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BIBLE PROMISES. 



DR. NEWTOX'S BOOKS. 



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Bays from the Sun of Righteousness 1.25 

The King in His Beauty , . . . 1.25 

Pebbles from the Brook 1.25 

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" The Doctor has an established reputation as the prince of children's 
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Little and yVise ].25 

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ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 
New Yoek. 




B. Promises. 



p. 212 



Bible Promises 



Sermons to Cljtltiren 



BY THE 



REV. RICHARD NEWTON, D.D. 

AUTHOR OF "JEWEL CASE," " WONDER CASE," ETC. 




New York 
ROBE'RT CARTER & BROTHERS 

530 Broadway 






& 



The Library | 
Conor ess 

WASHINGTON 



Copyright, 1884, 
By Robert Carter & Brothers. 



St. Johnland 


Cambridge : 


Stereotype Foundry, 


Press of 


Suffolk Co., N. V. 


John Wilson &* Son 



PREFACE. 



When the apostle Paul was speaking about 
these " Bible Promises/' he said God's purpose 
was, that " by these we should be partakers of 
the divine nature." This does not mean that 
poor sinful creatures, such as we are, can share 
in the divinity of God our Saviour. This is 
impossible; just as it would be impossible for 
you or me to take up the water of the ocean, 
in the hollow of our tiny hands. 

"What the apostle means, by the above lan- 
guage, is, that God wishes us, by the right use 
of these "Bible Promises," to learn to "tread 
in the blessed steps of the most holy life " of His 
dear Son; that we may have "the same mind 

that was also in Christ Jesus," "and become daily 

(5) 



6 PREFACE. 

more and more like Him." This is what these 
promises are given to us for. And I have writ- 
ten these sermons about them, in the hope that 
my young friends, who read them, or hear them 
read, may be helped and encouraged in their 
efforts to love, and serve the blessed Saviour. 
And if this should be the case I shall feel abun- 
dantly rewarded for writing them. 

My heart's desire and prayer to God, is that 
His blessing may rest upon this book, and make 
it useful to the lambs of His flock. 

Eichard Newton. 

Philadelphia, 

Sept. 1884. 



CONTEXTS. 



I. The Nature of the Proposes . . 11 

II. The Promise about Prayer ... 43 

III. The Blessing Promised in Christ . 71 

IV. The Promised Help 99 

V. The Promise of finding God . . 129 

VI. The Promised Blessing .... 159 

VII. How Christians are a Blessing . 189 

VIII. The Promised Eefuge 219 

IX. The Promise of the Dew . . . 251 

X. The Promised Grace 283 

XI. The Promise to the Righteous . 315 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 



I. 

THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 

"Exceeding great and precious promises." 
II Petee i. 4. 

We enter now on a new course of sermons 
for the young. Our last course we called 
" Bible Models." The one now before us, 
we call " Bible Promises ." 

In the words selected for our present text 
we have the description of these promises 
given us by the apostle Peter. In speaking 
of them he tells us that they are — "exceed- 
ing great and precious." 

These promises belong to you, and to me, 
and to all who are trying to love and serve 
Jesus. If God had come and spoken some 
of these promises to us personally, we should 
have been sure that they were intended for 
us, and that we had a right to lean on them, 

(ID 



12 BIBLE PROMISES. 

and expect them to be fulfilled. God has not 
done this: but yet we may feel towards all 
God's promises, just as we should if they 
had been spoken to us personally. If your 
father should leave you an inheritance; the 
money thus left, would be as truly yours 
as though you had earned it yourself. But 
St. Paul tells us that "the promises" are 
our inheritance, through faith (Heb. vi. 12). 
They are our fortune in this world. And 
we have a perfect right — the right which 
God has given us, to use them as our own. 
And so, as we go on examining these prom- 
ises, we shall be like a miser, when he opens 
the box which contains his treasures. He 
finds great pleasure in counting over his 
gold and silver, and calculating how much 
his gems and jewels are worth. These "Bi- 
ble Promises" are our treasures. But they 
are worth ten thousand times more to us, 
than all the gold and silver, and jewels of the 
richest man on earth are worth to him. 

These promises, the apostle tells us are — 
"exceeding great and precious." 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 13 

The question now before us is — in what 
respect they are so " exceeding great"? 
They are so in three respects. In the first 
place these " Bible Promises" are " exceeding 
great" in their — number. 

The Bible is a book of promises. If any 
one should begin at Genesis, and go through 
to the last chapter of the Revelations, and 
count up all the promises there, he would 
be astonished to find how many there are ! 
These promises were given to different peo- 
ple, under different circumstances, and at 
different times, and yet they all belong to 
each of God's children. 

See how many precious promises God 
gives us, about what He will do with our 
sins, when we repent of them, and believe 
in Jesus. In one place He promises that 
"they shall he forgiven'" (Isa. xxxiii. 24). 
In another He says — they shall be " blotted 
out" (Isa. xliii. 25). Again He says they 
shall be "put aicay" (Heb. ix. 26). They 
shall be "covered" (Romans iv. 17). They 
shall "not be remembered" (Heb. viii. 12). 



14 BIBLE PROMISES. 

They shall be "made an end of 11 (Daniel ix. 
24). They shall be "sought for and not 
found" (Jer. i. 20). They shall be "cast he- 
hind his back" (Isa. xxxviii. 17). "Though they 
be as scarlet they shall be as tvMte as snow " 
(Isa. i. 18). They shall be " cast into the 
depths of the sea" (Micah vii. 19). 

Here is an interesting story to illustrate 
one of God's promises, about the sins of His 
people. We may call it — 

THE CLEANSING BLOOD. 

An old blind man who was very ill, was 
taken to a hospital in London to die. 

He had a little grand-daughter, who used 
to go in every day to read the Bible to him. 
One day she was reading the first chapter 
of the first Epistle of St. John. Presently 
she came to these beautiful words, and read 
them out: "The blood of Jesus Christ, His 
Son, cleanseth us from all sin." On hearing 
this verse read, the old man raised himself 
in his bed, and said to his little grand- 
daughter, with great earnestness: 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 15 

44 Is that there, my dear?" 

"Yes, grandpa." 

"Then read it again — I never heard such 
blessed words before." 

She read the verse again, "The blood of 
Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all 
sin." 

"You are quite sure those words are there?" 

" Yes, quite sure, grandpa." 

"Then take my hand and lay my finger 
on that wonderful verse; 1 cannot see it, but 
I want to feel it." 

So she took the old blind man's hand, and 
placed his bony finger on the verse, when 
he said: "Now read it to me again." 

With a soft, sweet voice she read, "The 
blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us 
from all sin." 

"You are quite sure these words are there?" 

"Yes, grandpa, quite sure" 

"Then if any one should ask you how I 
died, say that I died in the faith of these 
words — ' The blood of Jesus Christ, His 
Son, cleanseth us from all sin.' " 



16 BIBLE PROMISES. 

After this the old man withdrew his hand, 
his head fell softly back on his pillow, and 
he passed peacefully away into the presence 
of that blessed Saviour, whose blood cleans- 
eth us from all sin. 

This is only one, out of a great many 
promises, that refer to the pardon of our 
sins. And so there are multitudes of prom- 
ises that refer to all our other necessities 
in this life. We are exposed to danger at 
all times ; and there are many precious prom- 
ises in the Bible, in which God engages to 
protect us in times of danger. We have 
one of these blessed promises, in the sev- 
enth verse of the 121st Psalm. Here we 
read: "The Lord shall preserve thee from all 
evil." And here is a story which shows how 
this promise was fulfilled on one occasion. 

We may call it — 

DIVINE PROTECTION. 

An English merchant, who was a Christian, 
left home, on one occasion, to go to the city 
of Bristol, to purchase some goods. On the 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 17 

way he was taken sick. His wife went to 
nurse him; and as soon as he got better 
she took him home. 

Several years after this, he happened to 
be present when a man was going to be 
hung for murder. Before the execution took 
place, the prisoner beckoned this gentleman 
to him, and said: — " Sir, do you recollect 
one occasion, when you were going to Bris- 
tol, to buy goods, and were taken sick on 
the way ? " 

M 0, yes," replied the gentleman — " I re- 
member that very well. But why do you 
ask that question?" 

" Just to let you know what a lucky thing 
it was, that you were stopped on the road. 
I knew oi your going; and that you would 
have a large sum of money with you; and 
I had arranged with two of my companions, 
to rob you on the way, and then murder you 
to avoid being detected." 

God knew the evil which those wicked men 
had planned to do to His servant, and He made 
use of that sickness to preserve him from it. 



18 BIBLE PROMISES. 

When we are in trouble from the want 
of food, or clothing there are many prom- 
ises that seem to have been made on purpose 
for us, at such times. One of these is that 
which God made to Abraham, when lie re- 
vealed His own name to him as — ''Jehovah 
Jireh — The Lord will provide." 

How many of God's suffering children have 
been comforted by this promise ! 

Here is an incident which illustrates this. 

We may call it — 

jack's breakfast. 

Jack's mother was a poor widow, who was 
trying hard to support herself and her little 
boy by sewing. But she had been sick for 
some days, and unable to work. Her money 
was all gone, and there was not a morsel 
of food of any kind in the house. She did 
not mind so much for herself; but, " Poor, 
dear Jack, — what will become of you ? " she 
asked, as the big tears rolled down her 
cheeks. 

"The Bible says, — 'The Lord will pro- 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 19 

vide/ " said Jack. He was his mother's 
little comforter; and the words he had just 
spoken went to her heart, like a beam of 
sunshine. 

"Are you sure, Jack, the Bible says 
so ? " she asked, as she lifted the child to 
her lap. 

" Yes, I'm sure," said Jack. " It's in the 
hymn, I learned in Sunday School. Let me 
tell you one of the verses: — 

" ■ In some way or other the Lord will provide; 
It may not be my way, 
It may not be thy way, 
But yet in his own way 
The Lord will provide.' " 

"There, now, it's true mamma. God will 
give us something to eat. I have asked Him, 
and I know He will." 

It was dark and cheerless, in that little 
garret room, as Jack and his mother went 
to bed without any supper. But Jack's words 
had put new faith into his mother's heart; 
and when Jack asked her, before falling 



20 BIBLE PROMISES. 

asleep: — '• Mamma, do you think God will 
send us some bread in time for breakfast, 
in the morning?" her cheerful answer was — 
"I think He will." 

Early the next morning, the sun was shin- 
ing through the attic window of their little 
room ; but it was a knock at the door that 
first awakened Jack. Eagerly the hungry 
child watched, as his mother opened the 
door. 

A neighbor was there, with a large plate 
ot rolls. " I baked more than enough for 
myself, Mrs. Jones," she said, " so 1 thought 
you and Jack might like them." 

Between her sobs and tears, the mother 
told the story of their hunger, and of Jack's 
prayer. u Why, it's better than we asked 
for," said Jack. " I only asked for bread, 
and God has sent us beautiful warm rolls 
instead." 

Jack and his mother would never forget 
this precious promise — "The Lord will pro- 
vide." 

And so, in the first place, we may well say 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 21 

that the " Bible Promises" are " exceeding 
great" — in their number. 

But, in the second place, these " Bible Prom- 
ises," are "exceeding great and 'precious," in 
their — certainty — as tcell as in their number. 

And the certainty of a promise is the most 
important thing about it. If a person, who 
never keeps his word, should promise to give 
you, or me, a thousand dollars; how much 
would that promise be worth? Nothing at 
all. It is the certainty of a promise that 
gives it all its value. But, in the promises 
that men make to each other, there is often 
very little certainty. You cannot depend on 
them. There is an old proverb which says 
that — " promises, like pie crusts, are made 
to be broken." This is often the case with 
men's promises. There is very little certainty 
about them. But it is very different with 
the "Bible Promises," of which we are now 
speaking. These are God's promises. And 
He always means what He says. His prom 
ises are all certain. We may apply to them 
the words of the hymn, which says — 



22 BIBLE PROMISES. 

"Each of them is the voice of God, 
Which spake — and spread the heavens abroad, 
And firmer than the solid poles, 
On which the wheel of nature rolls." 

These promises are the words of Jesus; 
and He had them in mind when He said, 
— " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but 
my words shall not pass away." The apostle 
Paul assures us that "all the promises of 
God in Jesus are yea and amen" (II Cor. 
i. 20). This means that they are all entirely 
sure, and certain. We may trust them, and 
depend on them, without a moment's doubt, 
or fear. Here is a little story which illus- 
trates the certainty of God's promises. We 
may call it — 

THE SURE WORD. 

An eminent minister of the gospel lay on 
his dying bed. To a brother clergyman, who 
visited him, he said: — "In spite of all I have 
written, and all I have preached, in the forty 
years of my ministry, there is but one thing 
that gives me any comfort now, and that 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 23 

is the promise: — ' Him that cometh unto Me 
I will in no wise cast out,' Do you think 
I may venture my soul upon that promise ? " 

" If you had a thousand souls," said his 
friend, "you might hang them all on that one 
promise." 

Surely that minister believed in the cer- 
tainty of God's promises. He could have 
taken up the language of the hymn which 
says — 

" 'In no wise cast thee out;' the word is spoken, — 
And, Jesus, never can thy word be broken; 
Here then I lay me down and take my rest, 
Calm as an infant on its mother's breast. 

"'In no wise cast thee out;' I live, I die, 
And fearless pass into eternity, 
Leaning on this alone : Thy word is given, 
That word secures my safety and my heaven.'" 

This shows us how the certainty of the 
promises secures the salvation of our souls. 

But it also gives comfort and happiness to 
God's people, when they are in trouble. Here 
is a little incident to illustrate this. We may 
call it — 



24 BIBLE PROMISES. 



TRIED AND PROVED. 

A good Christian lady was visiting an 
aged widow woman. She was very poor, 
and very ill; and yet she was bright and 
happy. A Bible, which she had used for 
many years, was lying on the table. Her 
visitor turned over its pages. In doing this 
she noticed here and there, a verse which 
had a line drawn round it, while on the 
margin opposite were printed, in capitals, 
the letters T. and P. The lady asked her 
aged friend what these meant. u They mean 
Tried and Proved" was her reply. "The 
promises of God's blessed Word have been 
my support and comfort, under all my trials. 
And as I have used them, one after an- 
other, and found how true they were, I have 
put these letters opposite to them, to show 
that I have tried them, and proved them. 
When I first saw myself a sinner, I read that 
sweet promise: — 'Come unto Me, and 7 will 
give you rest.' I believed what Jesus said. 
I came to Him, and found rest. Then I put 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 25 

T. and P. opposite that promise, because I 
had tried it, and proved it. When I was 
left a poor widow, with a family of helpless 
children, my heart was full of sorrow and 
sadness. But I read these precious words: 
— 'Leave thy fatherless children, I will pre- 
serve them alive; and let thy widows trust 
in Me/ Jer. xlix. 11. Then I committed my- 
self and my children to God's care and pro- 
tection. That promise was fulfilled. Then 
I put T. and P. opposite to it. Since then I 
have had many trials and troubles; but I 
have always found some precious promise 
of God's Word, that seemed to have been 
written on purpose to comfort me. And I 
have never found one of them fail." They 
are sure and certain promises. And if we 
only make a right use of them, we shall be 
able to write T. and P., tried and proved, 
opposite them all. 

I have just one other story to illustrate 
the certainty of God's promises. We may 
call it — 



26 BIBLE PROMISES. 

SIMPLE TRUST. 

There was an old Scotch woman named 
Nancy. She had been a happy Christian 
for many years. Her home was a lowly 
thatched cottage, in one of the quiet glens 
of Scotland. She was now sick, and was 
quietly waiting for death to end her suffer- 
ings, and take her into the presence of that 
Saviour whom she loved. By her bedside, 
on a small table, lay her spectacles, and her 
well-thumbed Bible. She called it " her bar- 
rel and her cruse," which she said had never 
failed, and from which she had fed continu- 
ally on the " Bread of life." 

A young minister often called to see her. 
He was a good Christian man, but he did not 
understand the gospel as well as old Nancy 
did. Yet he loved to listen to her as she 
talked of her precious Saviour. And when 
she spoke of her home in heaven, it seemed 
very near; and he almost fancied at times 
that he could hear the glad songs which the 
ransomed sing there. 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 27 

One day the young minister put this start- 
ling question to the happy saint: — 

" Well, Nancy, what, if after all your 
watching, and waiting, and prayers, and 
hopes, and expectations, God should suffer 
your soul to be lost forever ? " 

The faithful old Christian raised herself 
on her elbow, laid her right hand on her 
precious Bible, which lay open before her, 
and turning an earnest look to the young 
minister, she quietly said: — 

" And is that a' ye know about the Bible, 
mon ? " And then, as her eyes sparkled with 
heavenly brightness, she continued, — " God 
would hae the greater loss. Poor Nancy 
would only lose her soul. That would be a 
great loss indeed; but God would lose His 
honor, and His character. Haven't I hung 
my soul on His 4 exceeding great and pre- 
cious promises ' ? and if He should break 
His word, He would prove Himself untrue, 
and a' the universe would rush to ruin ! " 

How simple! how scriptural! how sublime, 
was the confidence of that dear old child of 



28 



BIBLE PROMISES. 



God in the certainty of His promises! These 
Bible Promises are "exceeding great and pre- 
cious," secondly — in their certainty. 

But thirdly, these promises are "exceeding 
great and precious " in their — power. 

Suppose you and I were on board a sail- 
ing vessel. The wind has driven us out of 
our proper course. We have come in sight 
of land. We are getting very near to it. It 
is a rocky coast. The waves of the sea are 
rolling and dashing upon the rocks, in foam 
and thunder. We are drifting directly tow- 
ards them. We cannot put the vessel about, 
and sail away from the danger, because the 
wind is blowing us right on shore. Every 
moment we are getting nearer to those ter- 
rible rocks. Before long our vessel will be 
driven upon them, and be dashed to pieces. 
Can nothing be done to save us? Yes, there 
is one thing that can be done. And hark! 
there is the captain's voice telling the men 
to do it. Above the noise of the wind and 
the waves he is giving the command: — "Let 
go the anchor ! " He is heard. He is obeyed; 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 29 

and down goes the anchor. It stops the ves- 
sel from drifting towards the rocks. Now 
w r e are safe. The heavy anchor has gone 
down among the rocks, and the strong iron 
cable, fastened to it, keeps the vessel steady. 
No matter how much the waves dash, or the 
winds blow, there is power in the anchor to 
prevent the ship from drifting, and to keep 
her safe. 

And just what the anchor is to the ship, 
under these circumstances, God's promises are 
to His people, as they sail over the sea of 
life. The apostle Paul uses this very illus- 
tration. He says the hope which God's peo- 
ple have, growing out of His promises, is 
like "an anchor to the soul, sure and stead- 
fast" (Heb. vi. 19). And this anchor is better 
than any that our sailors have. No matter 
how good the sailor's anchor may be he can- 
not always use it. If a storm overtakes him 
out at sea, the water is so deep that his cable 
is not long enough to reach the bottom, and 
so the anchor cannot be used. But, in sail- 
ing over the sea of life, the Christian never 



BIBLE PROMISES. 



reaches any point, where the water is too 
deep for the anchor of God's promises to 
reach the bottom, and hold him safe and 
steady, while the wildest storm is blowing. 
How wonderful is the power of these prom- 
ises! They are able to comfort, and cheer, 
and bless God's suffering people, in every time 
of trouble. 

Now let us look at some illustrations of 
the power of God's promises. Our first story 
shows the power of the promises — in doing 
good to one sinner. 

Some time ago, an infidel delivered a lec- 
ture against the Bible, in a manufacturing 
town in England. In his lecture he said 
that the story of Christ in the New Testa- 
ment was not true, it was all a fable. 

When the lecture was ended, a plain work- 
ing man, from one of the mills, rose up in 
his place, and said he would like to ask the 
gentleman a question. 

" Ask any question you please," said the 
lecturer. 

Then the man spoke as follows — 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 31 

" Thirty years ago, sir, I was the curse of 
this town. No one would speak to me, who 
had any respect for himself. I often tried to 
make myself better, but in vain. The tem- 
perance people got hold of me; but I broke 
the pledge so often, that they said it was no 
use trying any longer. Then the police took 
me up. I was brought before the magis- 
trates and tried. They sent me to prison. 
There the wardens tried what they could 
do; still I was nothing better, but rather 
worse. 

" Thus I tried ; the temperance people tried ; 
the police, the magistrates, and the wardens 
of the prison all tried to make me better, but 
in vain. At last Jesus took me in hand. He 
spoke to me some of the sweet promises of 
His word, such as these: — 'Though your 
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as 
snow.' 'I am He that blotteth out thy 
transgressions.' c I will strengthen thee, 
yea I will help thee.' 'My grace is suf- 
ficient for thee.' These melted my heart, 
wxA made a new man of me. And now, I 



32 BIBLE PROMISES, 

am a member of the church, and a superin- 
tendent of the Sunday School. And the 
question I wish to ask is this: — If the story 
of Christ is not true — is a fable, as you say, 
then how can you explain, that it should 
have produced so blessed and wonderful a 
change in my poor sinful heart ? " The lec- 
turer had no answer to give; and the work- 
ing man continued: — u No, sir, you may say 
what you please, but the gospel is the power 
of God unto salvation. " 

This story illustrates the power which the 
promises exercised on one poor sinner. Here 
is another which shows how that same power 
was exerted on a number of persons at once. 
We may call it — 

BIBLE TRIUMPHS. 

A Bible reader visited a work-house in 
London one day. On meeting the superin- 
tendent, he said to him: " Sir, have you any 
room, in this Institution, where such of the 
inmates as are bad-tempered and unmanage- 
able {ire confined?" 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 33 

"We have, sir," was his reply; " and a lot 
of very hard characters are confined in it." 

u Will you allow me, sir, to go in there by 
myself? I wish to try if I can't bring them 
to order, and do them some good." 

"Impossible!" exclaimed the superintend- 
ent; "it is very dangerous to go among them 
alone. I should be afraid to trust you; I 
never venture in myself without being 
armed." 

" Oh ! if that is all," said the Bible reader, 
" I am not afraid; I have arms in my pocket; 
please let me go." 

At last the superintendent reluctantly 
agreed to let him enter. He gave him a 
private signal, which he was to use if he 
should find himself in any danger. Then 
the stranger was allowed to enter the prison 
of the work-house, and the door was quickly 
closed behind him. 

As soon as he found himself among the 
prisoners, he drew his arms out of his pocket, 
They consisted of a sword, not of glittering 
steel — but the sword of the Spirit, which is 



34 



BIBLE PROMISES. 



the word of God. With the Bible in his 
hand, he sat down on the nearest bench he 
could find. Then he opened the Bible and 
read for about fifteen minutes, without add- 
ing a word of his own. The portions which 
he read, were chiefly those which contained 
the invitations and promises of the Bible. 
The prisoners listened to him in perfect 
silence. When he had finished reading, he 
said to them: — " Would you like me to come 
to-morrow, and read to you again?" 

They said they would be very much 
obliged if he would do so. He went the 
next day, and did exactly the same. He 
kept on doing this, day after day, till he had 
been there twelve times. 

When he went the thirteenth morning, the 
superintendent said to him: — "You might 
have saved yourself the trouble of com- 
ing this morning, sir, for there is not a 
single man left in the refractory ward. 
Every one has come out in a quiet and 
orderly manner, and they are all behaving 
themselves perfectly well, among the other 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 35 

inmates of the house.'" This was a blessed 
work. Here was a whole company of people, 
with disagreeable tempers, and evil ways, 
led to a better state of mind and feeling, and 
to behave themselves properly, through the 
simple reading of God's blessed word. What 
wonderful power there must be, in the truths 
and promises of the Bible, when we see them 
producing such good fruits as these ! 
Here is a story that we may call — 

THE HEART'S EASE OF THE VILLAGE. 

Heart's ease is the old English name, of a 
pretty little flower that we call the pansy. 
This story shows us what power there is in 
the promises of the Bible, to make us happy 
and useful, no matter what our troubles are. 

A Christian lady was spending the sum- 
mer in a beautiful little English village. 
She was walking through the village one 
day, with a young girl, whom she had em- 
ployed to do sewing for her. As they went 
along, this girl told her various interesting 
things, about different people in the village. 



36 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Among the rest she pointed to a nice little 
white cottage on the other side of the road, 
and said: — "A good Christian woman lives 
in that cottage, whom we call 'our village 
heart's ease.'" 

"And why do you call her that?" asked 
the lady. 

" Because, although she has had so much 
trouble herself, she is always so happy and 
cheerful. We all go to her when we are 
in trouble; and she talks so kindly to us, 
and has so many comforting things to say, 
that we call her — 'our heart's ease." 

The next day, this lady went to the lit- 
tle white cottage, to make the acquaintance 
of the good woman living there. The fol- 
lowing is the account she gives of her 
visit. 

"Her name is Alice Fern. I found her 
busily sewing on a little child's dress. In 
the course of conversation I learned that 
she was a young widow. Her husband 
was a sailor, and died two years ago, just 
when she was expecting him home. Not 



THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 37 

long after her baby died, leaving her all 
alone in the world. 

" How much trouble you have had," I 
said to her. 

"Yes," she replied, "but the blessings 
always come more thickly than the troubles." 

11 So you have found the silver lining to 
the cloud," I said. 

"That is it, ma'am; I have been a slow 
learner, but God has taught me at last, to 
trust Him in the dark, as well as in the light. 
I have found Him able to do exceeding 
abundantly above all that I can ask or 
think. His faithfulness reacheth unto the 
clouds. No words of mine can tell what 
He hath done for me," she said. 

" I do not wonder, now, that your neigh- 
bors call you Heart's-ease," I said smiling. 

"They seem to wonder why I am not 
worried, and fretted, and anxious as they 
are. Poor things ! I wish they would try 
my way." 

" And what is your way ? " I asked. 

"It is to ' cast all my care on Him who 



38 BIBLE PROMISES. 

careth for me.' When that is done, there 
is nothing left to worry about. How strange 
it is that people will keep their burdens and 
their worries, when they might so easily 
get rid of them ! If we only trust God's 
promises, they will give us all the heart's 
ease that we need." 

And so we see, that it was the power of 
the promises, which made that poor widow 
so happy and so useful. And if we make a 
right use of them, they will do the same for us. 

I have just one other short story to illus- 
trate the power of the promises. We may 
call it — 

HEAVEN IN AN ALMSHOUSE. 

A poor woman was dying, in the sick 
ward of a London Almshouse. A Chris- 
tain lady, who was visiting there, came in 
to see her. As she entered the room, the 
dying woman exclaimed: — " What a precious 
Saviour Jesus is ! " 

64 You know Him then, and love Him do 
you?" asked the visitor. 






THE NATURE OF THE PROMISES. 39 

"Yes, I know Him, and love Him: His 
presence makes a heaven of this poor room. 
If you should heap up piles of gold and 
silver on my bed; if you could give me 
the queen's carriage and horses, her palace 
and garden, with health and strength to 
enjoy them all, I would not exchange for 
them my glorious Saviour, and the happiness 
I find in Him. They talk about the pains 
of dying; what w r ill they be to me? They 
will only take me to Jesus, and to heaven." 

Certainly that poor woman was feeling 
the power of the promises. And so w^e see, 
that there are three good reasons, why these 
" Bible Promises" may be spoken of as " ex- 
ceeding great and precious." 

They are so, in the first place, because 
of their number; in the second place, because 
of their certainty; and in the third place, 
because of their power. 

The Collect for the Second Sunday in Ad- 
vent, is a suitable one with which to close 
this sermon: — 

" Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy 



40 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Scriptures to be written for our learning; 
Grant that we may in such wise hear them, 
read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, 
that by patience and comfort of thy holy 
word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, 
the blessed hope of everlasting life, which 
thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Amen." 



II. 

THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 



IT. 

THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 

"Ask, and it skall be given you."— St. Matt. vii. 7, 

This is one of God's precious promises about 
prayer. There are a great many promises 
on this subject in the Bible. And we need 
them all. Every good thing that we hope 
for, either in this world, or in the world to 
come, we receive in answer to prayer. It 
is very important, therefore, for us to be 
sure, as the hymn says, that " praying 
breath is never spent in vain." There is 
nothing about which we need to be more 
certain than about this, that God does hear, 
and answer prayer. And this is just what 
we are taught by our Saviour, when He 
says in the words of the text — "Ask, and 
it shall be given you." But, does this mean 
that God will answer every prayer that we 

(43) 



44 BIBLE PROMISES. 

offer, no matter what we ask for? No; not 
by any means. When we ask God for any- 
thing, Ave must always ask for it in sub- 
mission to His will. Our Saviour taught 
us this lesson by His own example. See, 
there He is in. the garden of Gethsemane, 
just before His crucifixion. Bowed down to 
the earth, under the load of anguish that 
presses upon Him, He is engaged in earnest 
prayer. He has a full view of the awful 
sufferings of the cross, on which He is so 
soon to be nailed. His innocent nature 
shrinks from that terrible experience; and 
He offers this prayer: — u Father, if it be pos- 
sible, let this cup pass from me ! " The mean- 
ing of this was — " Save me from being nailed 
to the cross ! " But then He adds immedi- 
ately — "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine 
be done." He would ask for nothing that 
was contrary to His Father s will. And this 
is the example that we should follow. When 
we ask God to give us anything, we should 
always .add— "if it be thy will." If any 
prayer could be answered, contrary to the 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 45 

will of God, it would be sure to do us more 
harm than good. 

There are only three kind of things, that 
God promises to give to His people. And 
when we ask anything from Him, we should 
be sure that it is one of these three. 

The first of these is — necessary — things. 

Suppose I should ask God to give me two 
heads, instead of one; would He answer that 
prayer? No. Why not? Because it is not 
necessary. Suppose I should ask God to 
give me wings like the eagle; would Pie 
answer that prayer? No. Why not? Be- 
cause it is not necessary. Suppose I should 
ask God to give me one eye like a telescope, 
so that I could see the distant stars ; and the 
other eye like a microscope, so that I could 
see those tiny things that cannot be seen 
without such a glass; would He answer 
that prayer? No. Why not? Because it 
is not necessary. Suppose I should ask God 
to give me ten millions of dollars; would 
He answer that prayer? No. Why not? 
Because it is not necessary. 



46 BIBLE PROMISES. 

But on the other hand, suppose when I 
awake in the morning, that I ask God to 
give me help and strength, to serve Him 
faithfully all the day; will He answer that 
prayer? Yes. Why? Because that is nec- 
essary. Suppose, that before I lie down at 
night, I ask God to guard and keep me 
safely, while I sleep; will He answer that 
prayer ? Yes. Why ? Because it is neces- 
sary; as I cannot take care of myself. And 
so, when we ask for necessary things, we 
may be sure they will be given, and the 
promise of the text be fulfilled. 

And now let us look at some illustrations 
of the way in which God answers the prayers 
of His people for necessary things. Our 
first story may be called — 

THE INDIANS PRAYER. 

A young Chippewa Indian chief had be- 
come a Christian, and was successfully en- 
gaged in farming. In writing to the clergy- 
man in New York, after whom he had been 
named at his baptism, he told him with 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 47 

great pleasure, how well he was prospering 
in his new pursuit of farming; how many 
acres of land he had under cultivation — how 
many bushels of wheat, oats, and potatoes 
he had raised during the past summer — and 
how many oxen, cows, and hogs he had. 
"All this," said he, " is wealth to me, be- 
yond anything I ever dreamed of, when I 
was a wild Indian. Then I had nothing, 
and never expected to have anything. I 
never asked God to make me rich; I only 
asked Him to forgive my sins. He answered 
that prayer, and then He gave me all the 
other good things, which I had not asked 
for." 

And God often does this. You remember 
what He did for Solomon. When he was 
first made king, God appeared to him in a 
dream, and told him to ask for anything 
he would like to have, and it should be 
given to him. Solomon asked God to give 
him wisdom, so that he might know how 
to govern his people, in the best possible 
way. This was a necessary thing that Sol- 



48 BIBLE PROMISES. 

omon asked for. And God was so pleased 
with him, because he only asked for wis- 
dom, that He promised not only to give 
him this, but also riches, and honor, and 
all other things that kings like to have. 
Our next story shows us how — 

PRAYER FOR A BIBLE 

was answered. 

A colporteur, of the American Bible So- 
ciety, was going through one of the counties, 
in the state of Georgia, some time ago, sell- 
ing Bibles and Testaments, and giving them 
away, to those who were too poor to buy 
them. "As I went on my way," he says, "I 
stopped one day at a small log house, on 
the road side, near some woods. The mo- 
ther of the family living there, bought a 
small Bible. Before I left she said to me — 
' I wish, my friend, you would go a little 
way into these woods. You will find a 
little cabin there. A good old widow wo- 
man lives in that cabin. She has no Bible, 
but wants one very much, though she is 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER, 49 

not able to buy one. But if you have any 
to give away; I am sure it will be a great 
comfort to her to have one.' 

" I walked a little way into the woods," 
says the Bible man, — " and soon reached 
the little cabin. As I came near the door, 
I heard some one speaking. On listening, 
I soon found that it was the voice of prayer. 
The old widow was talking to God, and 
asking something from Him. I waited till 
she was through. Then I knocked at the 
door. She opened it herself, and received 
me with a pleasant smile. 

44 1 said toher — 'My friend! I understand 
that you are in want of a Bible, and I have 
come on purpose to give you one.' At the 
same time I offered her a copy of the word 
of God. She took it eagerly in her hand, 
clasped it to her bosom, and then kissed it 
reverently, saying, as tears of gratitude ran 
down her cheeks: 'This comes directly from 
the Lord. My minister has just been here 
to see me. He wanted to read the Bible 
to me; but I had none for him to use. This 



50 BIBLE PROMISES. 

made me feel very badly. I said to myself 
— "I must have a Bible; but I can't afford 
to buy one. What shall I do ? " Then the 
thought came into my mind, I'll ask the 
Lord to give me one. So, when the min- 
ister left, I kneeled down, and told the Lord 
what I wanted, and asked Him to be so good 
as to send me one. I was praying for this 
when you came to the door. The promise 
is — "Ask, and it shall be given you." The 
Lord knew it was necessary for me to have 
one, and so He has kindly sent it to me, 
just while I was asking for it. 0, how 
good the Lord is ! ' " 

I have one other story to illustrate this 
part of our subject. We may call it — 

THE LITTLE BOYS LETTER. 

An officer, in the Kussian army, died sud- 
denly at Petersburg, leaving a wife and three 
small children, without any means of sup- 
port. In a little while all their furniture, 
and clothing, had gone to the pawnbrok- 
er's, and there was no prospect before 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 51 

them but that of perishing from cold and 
hunger. 

In their distress the oldest child, a little 
boy of six years old, thought that he must 
do something to help his mother and little 
sisters. In the first place, he went away 
by himself and prayed to God for help. 
Then he thought he would write a letter 
about it. So he wrote one, thus — 

"Dear Lord: Mother and my two little 
sisters have nothing to eat, and are very 
hungry. Please send me a little money to 
buy them some bread, and when I get big- 
ger, I will pay it back. 

" Yours truly, 



He directed his letter to — " God in 
Heaven." 

Then he went out, and ran to the nearest 
letter box, to put his letter in. But he was 
too little to reach up to the opening in the 
box. There was a gentleman standing by, 



52 BIBLE PROMISES. 

so he handed him the letter, and asked him 
to please drop it in the box. This gentle- 
man happened to be the minister of a large 
church, in that neighborhood. When he 
saw what was written on the letter, he 
opened and read it. Then he went home 
with the little boy, and supplied the family, 
at once, with fuel and food. And on the 
next Sunday he told the story of the little 
boy to his congregation, and read them his 
letter. Then they took up a collection for 
the poor family. The collection amounted 
to fifteen hundred roubles, or about a thou- 
sand dollars of our money. The thing that 
little boy asked for was necessary, and it 
was given to him. 

The first kind of things that God promises 
to give to those who ask is — necessary things. 

The second kind of things that God will give 
us when toe ask is — profitable — things. 

There are many things which are not 
absolutely necessary for us, but which yet 
may be profitable. There for example, is a 
drowning man. The most necessary thing 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 53 

iii the world for him, is to have a rope 
thrown to him, that he may take hold of 
it, and be drawn out of the water. To a 
hungry man the thing most necessary is 
bread, to keep him from starving. To a 
sick man the necessary thing is medicine. 
But here is a young man who just knows 
how to read, and write, and cypher. He 
wants very much, to go to college, and 
get an education. That is not really nec- 
essary for him. He could live arid be useful 
without it. But it would be very profitable 
for him. It would enable him to do many 
things, which he never could do without 
an education. And God promises to give 
us not only necessary things, but things 
that are profitable also. This is what He 
says: — u Xo good thing will He withhold," 
from those who love and serve Him (Ps. 
lxxxiv. 11). The "good things' 1 here spok- 
en of mean 'profitable things; or things that 
will help us in serving God, and trying to 
be more like Him. We do not know what 
things are profitable for us; but God knows. 



54 BIBLE PROMISES. 

We sometimes ask for things which God 
sees it would not be good for us to have; 
and then He does not answer our prayers. 

The apostle Paul was troubled about some- 
thing which he calls " a thorn in the flesh." 
He prayed to God three times to have it 
taken away. But his prayer was not an- 
swered. " The thorn in the flesh" was not 
taken away; yet God promised to give him 
grace to bear it. He saw that it would be 
profitable to Paul to bear that thorn, 
and so He did not answer his prayer by 
taking it away. And thus, when we ask 
God to give us anything, we may be per- 
fectly sure He will give it to us, if He 
sees that it will be for the good of our 
souls to have it. But if He sees that it 
will not be good, or profitable for us — then 
He will not give it to us. 

Let us look at some examples, of the 
way in which God answers His peoples' 
prayers, when they ask for profitable things. 
Our first story may be called — 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER, 55 



THE WIDOW S PRAYER ANSWERED. 

A poor widow in Germany had two sons. 
She struggled hard to give them both a 
college education. Her youngest son was 
finishing his studies. The time for his last 
examination had come. After this was over 
he expected to get his diploma. That would 
cost fifty francs, or ten dollars of our money. 
Bat his mother had not the money to pay 
for it. She was greatly distressed, because 
she knew not how to get it. 

She went to see her minister about it. 
She told him of her trouble, and asked him 
what she was to do. 

"You had better borrow the money," he 
said. 

"I cannot do that," was her reply, "for 
I know not how I can repay it." 

"Well," said he, "then let us ask God 
for the money. His promise" is: 'Call on me 
in the day of trouble, and I will deliver 
thee' (Ps. 1. 15). Go home and pray, and 
I will do the same in my study." When 



56 BIBLE PROMISES, 

she had gone, he knelt down, and engaged 
in earnest prayer for God to help her. He 
was too poor to give the money himself, 
and he wondered where it would come 
from. 

Then he went to take a walk. In pass- 
ing the house of a member of his church, 
it came into his mind to call and see them. 
As he entered the parlor the mother of the 
family said to him: " You've come at the 
right time, we are very glad to see you; 
for we wish to ask your advice. Yesterday 
my husband and I celebrated our silver 
wedding. We have laid aside twenty-five 
florins, as a thank-offering to God, for all His 
goodness to us during the twenty-five years 
of our married life. But we know not what 
to do with it, and we wish you to tell us how 
to use it." 

The minister told them the story of the 
poor widow. They both exclaimed: — "It 
is the finger of God. Take the money and 
give it to her." 

He went directly to her house and hand- 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 57 

ing the money to her, told her how he got 
it Tears of gratitude flowed down her 
cheeks, as she clasped the money in her 
hand. Then they both kneeled down, and 
thanked God for His goodness in fulfilling 
His promise — " Ask, and it shall be given 
you." 

A florin is worth about two dollars of 
our money; and so the twenty-five florins 
would be five times as much as the poor 
widow needed. 

Here is another illustration of the point 
of our subject now before us. We may call 
it— 

MONEY TO GO ON WITH. 

A merchant in Liverpool, who was an 
earnest Christian man, met an acquaintance 
in the street one day. He knew he was 
living a very wicked life, and he thought 
he would speak a few words to him, with 
the hope of bringing him to the Saviour. 
But, just as he was beginning, his friend 
smpped him by saying: — " It's no use try- 



58 BIBLE PROMISES. 

ing to make me a Christian. If I were one 
to-day, I should go back again to-morrow. 
You know how I'm living. But I've no 
power to break away from my bad habits, 
and do differently. 

"But suppose," said his Christian friend; 
"you should fail in business, as a merchant, 
and get into debt, what sort of a friend 
would you need to help you ? " 

" Why, 1 should want one who would 
pay my debts, and set me up in business 
again, and give me cash to go on with." 

"So you would," said his friend. "And 
this is just what Jesus will do for you. He 
not only pays our debts, but He sets us up 
again, and gives us the help of His grace, 
and that is the cash we need to go on 
with." 

This illustrates both points of the sermon 
we have had before us, and shows how 
God answers our prayers, for things that 
are necessary, and things that are profitable. 

I have one other illustration of this part 
of our subject. We may call it — 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 59 

conxie's chickens. 

A little girl named Connie lived in the 
country. Not far from her home there was 
a large old barn. In this barn was an 
old hen, which belonged to Connie; and 
when this old hen hatched out seven little 
chickens, they belonged to Connie too. 

One evening, just as Connie was going to 
bed, this barn caught fire. She saw the 
bright light flickering through the trees; 
and presently the great flames burst forth, 
all wrapped in clouds of smoke. 

On seeing this Connie's little sister began 
to cry. She w r as about to do the same her- 
self, when all at once, a good thought came 
into her mind. So she turned away from 
the blazing barn, and kneeling down in a 
corner of the nursery, she offered this simple 
prayer: — " 0, God, please don't let my lit- 
tle chickens be burnt! Oh, don't let my 
little chickens be burnt, for Jesus' sake. 
Amen." 

The good Friend above, who gave the 



60 BIBLE PROMISES. 

promise — "Ask, and it shall be given you,' 
heard that prayer, for the little chickens, 
and answered it too. No one ever knew 
exactly how they got out of the barn; and 
of course the poor old hen could not tell 
about it. But the next morning, when Con- 
nie went out to look at the smouldering 
ruins of the barn, imagine her delight to 
see the old hen, clucking and scratching 
about, and her seven little chickens with 
her, all safe and sound. And if Jesus heard 
Connie's prayer, and saved her poor little 
chickens from the burning barn, we may 
be sure that he will hear us, when we pray 
to be saved from that fire which will never 
be put out. 

The second kind of things that God will 
give us when we ask, is — profitable things. 

And the third kind of things that God ivill 
give us, when we ask, is — promised — things. 

If we ask for help to do any work we have 
to do, we shall be sure to get it, because 
God's promise is: — "I will help thee" (Is. 
xli. 10). If there are several things before us 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 61 

to attend to, and there is only one of them 
that can be done, and we know not which 
of them to choose, if we ask God to guide us 
in the matter, we may be sure that He will 
do it, because His promise is — " In all thy 
ways acknowledge me, and I w T ill direct 
thy paths." If we look to Jesus in faith, 
and ask Him to save our souls, we may be 
perfectly sure He will do it, for his promise 
is: — " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and thou shalt be saved." And it is just 
the same with all God's promises. 

Balaam was speaking of the certainty of 
God's promises, when He asked the question : 
— " Hath He said, and shall He not do it ? 
hath He spoken, and shall He not make 
it good?" When we take our stand on 
God's promises we are on ground that is 
perfectly sure. It never can fail us. When 
we ask for anything that God has promised, 
we never need have a moment's doubt about 
its being given to us. What God promises 
He never fails to perform. And so when 
we offer our prayers to God, and ask Him 



62 BIBLE PROMISES. 

to give us anything, we must be sure that 
what we ask for is among the things He 
has promised; and then we may be sure 
that our prayers will be answered. Here 
are some incidents that illustrate this point 
very nicely. 

The first may be called — ; 

HELP IN TROUBLE. 

A brother of the Eev. Newman Hall, of 
London, was the superintendent of a Sun- 
day School. One Saturday evening, the 
thought came into his mind, that he ought 
to go and visit a certain member of the 
Bible class, connected with his school. He 
had never visited him before; but he felt 
that he must go now; and so he went. He 
found the young man very ill. His mother 
and sister were so well dressed, and every 
thing about the house seemed so comfortable 
and respectable, that he felt unwilling to 
offer them any help. But he felt that he 
must do so; and at last he ventured to ask if 
there was anything he could do for them. 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 63 

On hearing this, they both burst into 
tears and sobbed aloud. Then they told 
him that their patient had been asking for 
something to eat; but they had not a morsel 
of anything to give him, and not a penny 
left with which to buy a loaf of bread. " We 
were asking God to help us, and just as you 
knocked at the door, we were pleading that 
precious promise, in which God says: — 'Call 
on me in the day of trouble, and I will hear 
thee.' And it melts our hearts to find how 
wonderfully He fulfils His promises." 

The superintendent gave them what they 
needed then ; and at once, by the help of a 
few friends, raised enough money effectually 
to relieve their wants. So the promise was 
fulfilled which says: — " Ask, and it shall be 
given you." 

The next story may be called — 

WHAT GOD DOES WITH OUR SINS. 



A little boy was once puzzled, when he 
heard two Christians talking about God's 
promise to " blot out " His people's sins. 



6i BIBLE PROMISES. 

When he came home, he said: — ''Mother, 
what becomes of all our sins when God 
forgives them ? " 

61 Why. Charlie," said his mother, "can you 
tell me where all the figures are that you 
wrote on your slate, yesterday ? " 

11 1 washed them all out, mother." 

" Aud where are they now ? " 

"Why, they are no-where; they are put 
away — they are gone,'' said Charlie. 

'•And that is just what God does with our 
3ins," said his mother, " when we repent, 
and believe in Jesus. God's promise is that 
they shall 4 be blotted out'; 'they shall 
be put away': they shall be 'remembered 
no more'; *as far as the east is from the 
west, so far will He remove our transgres- 
sions from us.' And when, in true peni- 
tence and faith, we ask Him to forgive us, 
and blot out our sins, we may be perfectly 
sure that what we ask for will be given 
us." 

Here is a nice little story, which may be 
called — 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 65 

HE SAYS HE WILL. 

A little child who had just lost her mother 
was asked one day, "What do you do with- 
out a mother to tell your troubles to?" 

She simply said, in answer to ttdfi 
tion: — A * I go to the Lord Jesus, and tell 
Him all my troubles: He was my mothers 
friend, and He's mine." 

"But Jesus is in heaven; there He sits 
on the throne of God. He has all the 
world to attend to, and a great many more 
worlds than this; and how do you think 
He can find time to attend to a poor little 
creature such as you are ? " 

"All I know about it is He says He will.' 1 
said the dear child. " and that is enough for 
me." 

What a beautiful answer that was ! That 
little girl was resting on God's promi-—. 
and she found great comfort in doing so. 
And if we learn to follow her example it 
will make us happy. 

I have just one other illustration. We 
may call it — 



G6 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Nettie's daily bread. 

A little girl whose name was Nettie, lived 
with her mother in a small garret room. 
One time her mother was sick; and they 
had no bread to eat. She was reading the 
thirty-third chapter of Isaiah that morning. 
In the sixteenth verse of this chapter, she 
found this sweet promise: " Bread shall be 
given him, and his water shall be sure.'' 
Then she kneeled down and said the Lord's 
prayer. One clause in it she repeated several 
times: — " Give us this day our daily bread." 
Then she went out into the street, and began 
to wonder where God kept his bread. She 
turned round the corner, and saw a large 
well-filled baker's shop. 

"This," said Nettie to herself, "must be 
the place." So she entered confidently and 
said to the big baker, " I've come for it." 

"Come for what?" 

" My daily bread," said Nettie, pointing to 
the tempting loaves. " I'll take two if you 
please— one for mother, and one for myself." 

"All right," said the baker, putting them 



THE PROMISE ABOUT PRAYER. 67 

in a paper bag, and giving them to his little 
customer, who started at once for the door. 

"Stop, you little rogue!" he said roughly; 
" where is your money ? " 

The hard words frightened the poor child, 
and bursting into tears, she said: "Mother 
is sick, and I am so hungry. I read in 
my Bible this morning God's promise which 
says, 'Bread shall be given thee, and thy 
water shall be sure.' Then in my prayer 
I said, ' Give us this day our daily bread.' 
Then I thought God meant me to come and 
fetch it; and so I came." 

The rough, but kind-hearted baker, was 
softened by the child's simple tale, and he 
sent her home not with two loaves merely, 
but with a well filled basket. 

Nettie was asking for what God had prom- 
ised to give. Her prayer was answered, 
and she got what she asked for. And, if 
we follow her example, we shall find that the 
same God, who answered her prayer, will be 
ready to answer ours also; for His promise 
is — " Ask, and it shall be given you." 



68 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Now where is our text to day? St. Mat- 
thew vii. 7. What are the words of the text ? 
"Ask, and it shall be given you." 

What is the sermon about? God's prom- 
ise to answer prayer. How many kind of 
things may we expect God to give us in 
answer to our prayers? Three. The first 
is what? Necessary things. The second is 
what? Profitable things. The third is what? 
Promised things. 

So let us be careful in our prayers, to ask 
only for necessary, or profitable, or promised 
things; and then it will be our comfort to 
find, that the things which we ask for will 
surely be given unto us. 

The Collect for the Tenth Sunday after 
Trinity, is an appropriate one with which 
to close our sermon: — 

"Let thy merciful ears, Lord, be open 
to the prayers of thy humble servants; and 
that they may obtain their petitions, make 
them to ask such things as shall please thee; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 



III. 

THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 



Ill 

THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 

"Men shall be blessed in Him."— Psalm lxxii. 17. 

Christmas is the happiest season of the year. 
We generally receive presents from our 
friends at this time, and this is always 
pleasant. But there is one gift, which, 
more than any other, has to do with the 
happiness of Christmas. I refer here to 
God's great gift to our world. Jesus Him- 
self said: — " God so loved the world, that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in Him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." And Christmas 
brings up afresh to our minds the thought 
of this great gift. We keep this happy sea- 
son, in memory of the.time when Jesus was 
born. And the birth of Jesus was the great- 
est blessing that our world ever received. 

171) 



72 BIBLE PROMISES. 

David was looking forward to the birth of 
Jesus when he said: — "Men shall be blessed 
in Him." 

And when we think of the different ways 
in which Jesus came to bless men, we see 
reason enough why we should be happy 
when Christmas comes. We shall only 
speak of three ways, in which men are 
blessed in Jesus. 

In the first place, Jesus blesses men by — the 
knowledge — which He gives them. 

All the knowledge we have, of the world 
we live in, Jesus has given us. All the 
knowledge we have about ourselves; about 
our creation, and how we became sinful; 
about what we were sent into the world 
for; all we know about heaven — and how we 
are to pass through the world so as to get 
there safe at last; all this knowledge we 
owe to Jesus. It is the blessed Bible which 
tells us all we know about these things. But 
then we owe the Bible to Jesus. It was He 
who caused the Bible to be written; and 
He has told us everything that it contains. 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 73 

And when we think of the knowledge which 
the Bible gives us, on everything connected 
with our souls, and their salvation, and how 
we owe all this to Jesus; then we see how 
well it may be said — that " men are blessed 
in Him." 

Let us look at some illustrations of the 
truth that men are blessed in Jesus, bv the 
knowledge which He gives them. 

Our first story may be called — 

THE TARTAR CHIEFS. 

Some years ago, two Tartar chiefs came 
from the borders of China to St. Peters- 
burg, in Russia, to learn the language of 
that country, and some of the arts and cus- 
toms of the Europeans. They brought let- 
ters with them, stating that they were two 
of the best men of their tribe. 

A German missionary, who was translating 
a part of the New Testament into their na- 
tive language, engaged them to help him 
in his work. They were occupied thus for 
several months. As they went on with their 



74 BIBLE PROMISES. 

work from clay to day, they often asked the 
missionary questions about Jesus the Sa- 
viour, and the truths which He taught. 

When the translation was finished, the two 
chiefs sat in silence by the missionary, as 
if they were not willing to leave him. 
" Have you any questions to ask, my 
friends ? " said the missionary. " None," 
was their answer; "but we wish to tell 
you that we are converted to the religion 
of that book" — pointing to the New Testa- 
ment which lay on the table. " We have 
lived in ignorance, and been led by blind 
guides. We have read the books which 
tell about the religion of the god Foh, who 
is worshipped in our country. But the more 
we read those books, the less we understood 
them, and the more empty our hearts re- 
mained. But in reading what that book 
tells us about Jesus, it is very different. The 
more we read the words of Jesus, the better 
we understand them. It seems as if Jesus 
Himself were talking to us. Now, we know 
how to get our sins pardoned, and where to 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST 75 

find the help we need, in trying to serve 
Him. That book satisfies our hearts, and 
makes us feel happy." 

Surely those men were blessed, in the 
knowledge which Jesus gave them by His 
word ! 

Oar next story may be called — 

THE GOOD ONE BIBLE DID. 

A Eoman Catholic lady had been for some 
time in bad health, and very low spirits. 
One day, in walking through the streets of 
London, she passed by a theatre. Seeing 
the door open, and people going in, she 
supposed that some play was being per- 
formed, and concluded to go in and see it. 
But she had only been seated a few min- 
utes when she heard some one say: — " Let 
us pray." It seemed that a city missionary 
had hired the building for the purpose of 
holding a religious service in it, and was 
engaged in carrying it on. When the lady 
saw the mistake she had made, she rose to 
go out; but in doing this, she dropped her 



76 BIBLE PROMISES. 

fan and her umbrella. The falling of these 
on the floor, made so much noise, that every- 
one turned and looked at her. Then she 
thought it best to sit down again, and listen 
to the minister. The words she heard had 
a strange effect upon her. She saw that 
she was a sinner, without any proper knowl- 
edge of the Saviour. 

When the service was over, she went up 
to the minister, and said she wished to speak 
with him. She told him of the burden of 
sin that was pressing upon her, and from 
which she had never found any relief. 

" Oh ! I have a cure for you. Take this 
book, and read it," he said, as he handed her 
his pocket Bible. u I am sure it will show 
you what to do with your sins, and make 
you feel happy." 

She took the book and promised to read it. 
She did so, and the reading of it made a 
great change in her. It led her to know 
and love the Saviour, as she had never done 
before. The burden of her sins was taken 
away, and this made her very happy. 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 77 

Then she gave up going to the Romish 
Church. Before long the priest, who was a 
warm friend of hers, came to see her, and 
find ont what was the matter. She showed 
him the book she had been reading, and told 
him what a wonderful change it had made 
in her views and feelings. " I never knew 
what religion was before," she said; "but 
now, I am as happy as the day is long." 

Then she gave the book to him, and asked 
him to read it, and tell her what he thought 
of it. 

The priest took the book and read it. The 
reading of it led to a change in him, like 
that which had taken place in his friend. 
But just after this, he was taken very ill. 
This illness was followed by a sudden 
death. But the knowledge of Jesus, which 
the reading of that book had given him, 
took away all fear of death, and he died 
very happily. 

During his sickness one of the nuns waited 
on him as a nurse. He told her about this 
book, and how much he had learned from 



78 BIBLE PROMISES. 

it; and he asked her to have it put by his 
side in his coffin, to be buried with him. 
When he was placed in his coffin, the nun 
laid the Bible by his side. But, after think- 
ing of the strange effect the reading of that 
book had produced on her friend, the dead 
priest, she could not resist the strong desire 
that was in her heart to read it herself, and 
find out what was in it. And so, just before 
the lid of the coffin was fastened down, she 
took the book out of the coffin, and carried 
it to her own room, that she might have an 
opportunity, at her leisure, of reading it for 
herself. She did read it very carefully, and 
it had the same effect on her, that it had 
on the priest and the lady. It taught her 
the truth in Jesus, as she had never known 
it before, and made her a happy and useful 
Christian. 

Now surely it might well be said, of these 
three persons, that they were blessed in Jesus. 
Through the knowledge of Him, and His sal- 
vation, which they got from the simple read- 
ing of His word— they were "blessed in Him." 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 79 

The first way in which Jesus blesses men, is 
by the knowledge He gives them. 

The second way in which men are blessed in 
Jesus, is by — the privileges — ivhich He bestoics 
on them. 

It is a privilege to be the friend of any 
person who is good and great. Suppose that 
General Washington was living now, and 
was the president of the United States; what 
an honor it would be, if you and I could 
be known as — the friends of Washington. But 
there is an honor greater even than this. 
When the patriarch Abraham w r as on earth, 
he was called "the friend of God." What 
a privilege that was! And yet, if we only 
learn to love, and serve Jesus, He will make 
this privilege ours. When He was on earth, 
He said to His disciples, u Ye are my friends." 
This is the greatest privilege that any one 
can have. I would rather be the friend of 
Jesus, though I had to live in a garret, or a 
cellar, than to sit on the throne, and wear 
the crown of the mightiest monarch on earth. 
And when we think of Jesus, as making all 



80 BIBLE PROMISES. 

His people His friends — the friends of God — 
how well it may be said that they u are 
blessed in Him ! " 

Here is an illustration of the privilege of 
this friendship. We may call it — 

THE BEST COMPANY. 

One evening, a lady who lived in New 
York, was crossing the East River, in the 
ferry-boat, alone. As the boat drew near the 
landing, a bad man came up to her and said, 
4< Are you alone ? " 

44 No, sir," was her reply; and the moment 
the boat touched the wharf she jumped off. 

Coming up to her again, as she was hurry- 
ing from the boat, the man said — 

" I thought you were alone." 

"I am not," replied the lady. 

44 Why I don't see any one; pray who is 
with you ? " 

44 The Lord Almighty, and the angels, are 
my friends and companions: I am never 
alone," was her answer. 

41 The company you keep, madam, is too 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 81 

good for me," said the man, and then he 
went off. Now certainly, that good lady 
was feeling that it was a privilege to have 
the friendship of God, 

And the protection of God, as well as His 
friendship, is one of the privileges that Jesus 
secures for His people. If we could draw a 
line around our dwelling, and then arrange 
things so that no one could ever cross that 
line to do us harm, what a privilege that 
would be! We cannot do this for our- 
selves; but this is just what Jesus does for 
His people. 

When Job was on earth, Satan tried hard 
to do him some harm. But he found it im- 
possible to touch a hair of his head. And 
he said the reason of it was, that God had 
u made a hedge about him, and about his 
house, and about all that he had on every 
side." Satan had tried to leap over that 
hedge, or to force his way through it. But 
it was impossible. He never could do it till 
God gave him leave. Job was enjoying the 
privilege of God's protection, that we are 



82 BIBLE PROMISES. 

now speaking of. And God puts the same 
sort of a hedge about all His people, that He 
put around Job. And it is a very great 
privilege to have such protection. 

The Bible tells us that God " holds His peo- 
ple in the hollow of His hand"; "He keeps 
them as the apple of His eye"; He "puts 
underneath them His everlasting arms"; and 
spreads over them His sheltering wings; 
then, how safe they are ! And if we are 
God's people, though all the wicked men, and 
all the evil spirits in the world, should try to 
injure us, they never could do it. We are 
perfectly safe under God's protection. What 
a privilege this is ! 

Let us look at one or two illustrations of 
this privilege. The first we may call — 

THE ANGEL'S CHARGE. 

Annie was a timid little girl. She did not 
like to be left alone in a dark room. One 
night when she had said her prayers, her 
mother helped her into bed, and giving 
her a good-night kiss, was just leaving the 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 83 

room, when she heard Annie say very softly, 
"Mamma! " 

She went back to her little girl's bedside, 
to see what she wanted. Finding that she 
was frightened by the rattling of the win- 
dows, as the wind blew against them, her 
mother put some wedges in the windows 
to stop their rattling. And then, sitting 
down by little Annie's bed, she said: 

u You dont feel afraid now, darling, when 
I am with you, do you ? " 

"Oh, no, mamma! I don't mind the noise, 
or feel afraid of anything, when vou are 
here." 

"And yet, Annie dear, your Heavenly Fa- 
ther can take much better care of you than 
I can; and He is with you all the time. Let 
me teach you a beautiful verse from the Bi- 
ble, which I wish you to remember, and re- 
peat to yourself, whenever you feel afraid. 
It is this: — 'He shall give His angels 
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy 
ways. They shall bear thee up in their 
hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a 



84 BIBLE PROMISES. 

stone.' And now I want my little girl to 
say this verse over till she knows it, and 
can remember it as long as she lives." 

Annie repeated it several times, and then 
she said: — "Now, mamma, you may go 
downstairs. I'll not be afraid any more." 

So her mamma kissed her, and went away; 
and little Annie closed her eyes, and went to 
sleep, saying, "God's angels will take care 
of me" (Ps. xxxiv. 7). 

Here is another nice story, to illustrate 
this part of our subject. We may call it — 

THE STORM AND ITS LESSONS. 

A severe thunder storm was raging one 
night. Two little girls had been put early 
to bed that evening. The flashing of the 
lightning, and the rolling of the thunder, 
frightened the children, so that trembling 
they hid their faces beneath the bed-clothes. 

A young house-maid was passing back- 
wards and forwards in the entry, outside 
their room, attending to her duties. While 
thus engaged, the children heard her sing- 



THE BLESS1XG PROMISED IN CHRIST. 85 

ing, with her sweet young voice, these words 
of one of her favorite hymns: — 

1 ' O God, our help in ages past, 
Our hope for years to come; 
Our shelter from the stormy blast, 
And our eternal home ! 

" Under the shadow of thy throne, 
Thy saints have dwelt secure; 
Sufficient is thine arm alone, 
And our defence is sure." 

"Jane, Jane," cried one of the children 
from the bedroom, "aren't you afraid? How 
can you keep on singing, when it lightens 
so, and the thunder makes such a dreadful 
noise ? " 

"Afraid, Miss Annie? Oh, no," said the 
girl. " How can I be afraid, when I know 
that God is here? He takes care of me, and 
nothing can hurt me without His will. The 
lightning can do nothing but what God sends 
it to do. So don't be afraid; but just try to 
think that you must be safe in GocTs keeping. 
He will take care of both you and me." 



86 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Then Jane kissed the children, and bade 
them " good-night." Her words comforted 
them, and took away their fear, and they fell 
asleep, thinking of these sweet words: — "God 
will take care of us." 

When we think of the privileges, which 
Jesus bestows upon His people, of his friend- 
ship, and protection, we see how well it may 
be said, that " men shall be blessed in Him." 

And in the third place, men are blessed in 
Jesus, by — the hope — He imparts to them. 

A heart without any hope, is like a lan- 
tern that has no light in it. And yet, 
until we learn to know and love Jesus, we 
never can have any hope of pardon, or of 
heaven. This hope which Jesus gives, is one 
of the greatest blessings that we can have. 
What a dark and dreary place, this world 
would be to live in, if we had no sun to 
shine upon us ! And as the sun by his 
bright beams lights up the world around 
us, so Jesus lights up the hearts of His peo- 
ple, and fills them with joy and gladness, by 
the hope of heaven which He gives them. 



THE BLESSLYG PROMISED IN CHRIST. 87 

Suppose that you and I were visiting a 
hospital. In one ward we find men suffer- 
ing from broken limbs; in another they are 
sick with fever; and in another with con- 
sumption. One ward is full of men who are 
blind, and another with those who are deaf. 
And suppose that none of them have any 
hope of getting well, or ever being any 
better. How sad and sorrowful they would 
all be ! But suppose, that as we walked 
through the wards of that hospital, we were 
able to give to all those poor sufferers the 
sure hope, that, in a short time, they would 
all get quite well; — the blind eyes would be 
opened; the deaf ears would be unstopped; 
the broken limbs would all be healed ; those 
suffering from consumption and fever would 
be cured; and all would go out of the hos- 
pital, in good health and strength; — what a 
change our visit would make to those poor 
suffering patients! And how well it might 
have been said that they were blessed in us ! 
We had blessed them by the hope of getting 
well, which we had given them. And it is 



88 BIBLE PROMISES, 

just so, that men are blessed in Jesus. Sin 
has made our world like a great hospital, all 
the Avards of which are full of people, suffer- 
ing from different kinds of disease. In them- 
selves they have no hope of ever being any 
better. But Jesus gives the sure hope of 
getting well, to all who love and serve Him. 
And so it is true that "men are blessed in 
Him," by the hope He gives them of having 
their sins pardoned, and of going to heaven 
by and by. Here are some illustrations, of 
the way in which men are blessed by the 
hope which Jesus gives. The first we may 
call — 

THE MINER'S BOY AND HIS BIBLE. 

A poor coal miner, who feared God, was 
in the habit of always taking his Bible with 
him, when he went down into the pit, that 
he might read a few verses when he left off 
work to eat his dinner. He had a son, a 
little lad, who worked with him. He had 
received a Bible from his Sunday School 
teacher, and by the advice of his father, 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 89 

he was in the habit of taking it with him 
too. 

One day, while they were at work, there 
was an accident in the mine. A great mass 
of coal, forming the roof above them, fell to 
the earth, between the father and the son. 
The father was not hurt, but he was in great 
distress to know how it was with his son. 
He called aloud to him. The boy answered 
him; but it was only to say, that his feet 
were both crushed under heavy pieces of 
coal, and he could not move, " What can I 
do for you, my poor dear boy ? " exclaimed 
the father. 

"Nothing, I fear," said the boy; "but my 
lamp is not out yet. I am reading my Bible 
with great comfort; and I feel that the Lord 
is with me." 

Help was called for, and after some hours 
of hard labor, the boy was reached. But he 
was found dead. His lamp had gone out: 
but the lamp of life — his blessed Bible — had 
kindled the hope of heaven in his soul. He 
was blessed in Jesus, by the hope which He 



90 BIBLE PROMISES. 

gives His people. And what else was there, 
in all the world, which could have cheered 
and comforted that dear boy, when he had 
to meet death, all alone amidst the deep 
darkness of that gloomy pit ? 

We have a beautiful hymn in our hymnal, 
the first line of which reads thus — 

" Abide with me, fast falls the even-tide." 

This hymn was written by an English 
clergyman. He wrote another very precious 
hymn, on the words — " I am Christ's, and 
Christ is mine." I will quote several verses 
of this hymn, because it illustrates the point 
of our subject now before us, showing how 
Jesus blesses men by the glorious hope which 
He puts in their hearts. Listen to these 
verses — 

11 The good I have is from His stores supplied; 
The ill is only what He deems the best; 
If He's my friend, I'm rich with naught beside, 

And poor without Him, though of pJl possessed; 
Changes may come; I take, or I resign; 
Content while I am His, and He is mine. 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 91 

" Whate'er may change, in Him no change is seen; 

A glorious sun, that wanes not, nor declines; 
Above the clouds and storms, He walks serene, 

And sweetly on His peoples' darkness shines; 
All may depart, I fret not, nor repine, 
While I my Saviour's am, and He is mine. 

" He stays me falling, lifts me up when down; 

Reclaims me wandering, guards from every foe; 
Plants on my worthless brow the victor's crown, 

Which in return before His feet I throw; 
Grieved that I cannot better grace His shrine, 
Who deigns to own me His, as He is mine. 

" While here, alas ! I know but half His love, 
But half discern Him, and but half adore; 

But, when I meet Him in the realms above, 
I hope to love Him better, praise Him more; 

And feel, and tell, amid the choir divine, 

How fully I am His, and He is mine." 

Here is a good illustration of this part 
of our sermon. We may call it — 

GLORIOUS DYING. 

There were two brothers who were very 
much attached to each other. The elder 



92 BIBLE PROMISES. 

was named George, and the younger Charles. 
Whatever George did, Charles always wanted 
to do too. During the war, George came 
home one day, and said he had just enlisted 
in the army. Then Charles said that he 
must go and enlist too. So he went to the 
recruiting officer, and got his name entered 
next to his brother's. 

"George and I," he said to the officer, 
"have never been separated for a day, all 
our lives, and I must go with him into the 
army." 

So they went, and were in a number of 
battles together, without being wounded. 

But, in the terrible battle of Perryville, 
George was mortally wounded. A minie 
ball had passed through his lungs. As soon 
as Charles saw his brother fall, he went up 
to him, and kneeling by his side, put his 
knapsack under his head for a pillow, and 
made him as comfortable as he could. Then 
he kissed him, and was going away when 
George said to him — 

" Wait a little, Charley. Stoop down and 



THE BLESSING PROMISED IN CHRIST. 93 

let me give you my last kiss." George gave 
him a kiss for himself. Then he gave him 
another, and said — "Now, Charley, I want 
you to take that kiss home to mother, and 
tell her that I died praying for her." 

Charley stood there gazing at his brother, 
as he lay before him, bleeding to death. 
While he was looking at him he heard 
George say — "This is glorious." 

" What is glorious, brother?" said Char- 
ley. " I don't see anything very glorious, 
for you to be lying here, weltering in your 
blood." 

u Oh, yes, Charley," said George, " it is 
glorious to die looking up to heaven, as I 
am doing, and to see Jesus waiting to re- 
ceive me." 

That poor dying soldier was blest in Jesus, 
by the hope of heaven which He gave him. 

Here are some simple lines with which 
we may finish our sermon. They are called 
— The Song of Hope. They show us how 
hope sheds its cheering light along the 
pathway of our pilgrimage. 



94 BIBLE PROMISES, 

"I hear it singing, singing sweetly. 
Softly in an undertone, 
Singing as if God had taught it, 
'It is better farther on.' 

" Night and day it sings the song, 
Sings it while I sit alone, 
Sings so that the heart may hear it, 
'It is better farther on.' 

"Sits upon the grave and sings it, 

Sings it when the heart would groan, 
Sings it when the shadows darken, 
'It is better farther on.' 

"Farther on? How much farther? 
Count the milestones one by one; 
No ! no counting — only trusting, 
'It is better farther on.' " 

Where is our text? Ps. lxxii. 17. What 
are the words of the text? "Men shall be 
blessed in Him." What is the sermon about? 
How men are blessed in Jesus. How many- 
ways did we speak of? Three. In the first 
place Jesus blessed His people by what? By 
the knowledge he gives. In the second place 
by what? By the privileges He bestows on 



THE BLESSIXG PROMISED IN CHRIST. 95 

them. And in the third place by what? 
By the hope He imparts to them. 

The Collect for the Sixth Sunday after 
the Epiphany is a very appropriate one 
with which to close this sermon: — 

41 God, whose blessed Son was manifested 
that He might destroy the works of the 
devil, and make us the Sons of God, and 
heirs of eternal life; Grant ns, we beseech 
thee, that having this hope, we may purify 
ourselves, even as He ia pure; that when 
He shall appear again, with power and great 
glory, we may be made like unto Him in 
His eternal and glorious kingdom; where 
with thee, Father, and thee, Holy 
Ghost, He liveth and reigneth, ever one 
God, world without end. Amen." 



IV. 
THE PROMISED HELP. 



IY. 

THE PROMISED HELP. 

" I will help thee." — Isaiah xli. 10. 

Soue years ago, a gentleman said to me, 
one day: — "Dr. Newton, will you please 
tell me what verse of the Bible has been 
the greatest use and comfort to you, in all 
the years of your Christian life?" 

Without a moment's hesitation, I said, in 
answer to his question, " Why, sir, the four cen- 
tral words in the tenth verse of the forty-first 
chapter of Isaiah: — "J will help Thee. 11 These 
words have been the staff of my pilgrimage, 
for more than half a century. When I have 
had any hard work to do, or any heavy bur- 
den to bear, I have always leaned on this 
staff, and have been helped and strength- 
ened by it. It has never broken, and never 
bent under me when I have leaned upon 

(99) 



100 BIBLE PROMISES. 

it; but has been a comfort and support to 
me, times and ways without number." 

This is one of the most precious of the 
" Bible Promises/' And so, in speaking about 
it, we may well say that our sermon to-day 
is about the promised help. God says to 
each of His people — "I will help thee." 

And there are three things we have to 
do, in each of which we especially need 
the help thus promised. 

In the first place, we need this help — in re- 
sisting OUR TEMPTATIONS. 

Satan is the great tempter. This is his 
special business. But he does not work 
alone, in carrying on this business. He 
has a multitude of evil spirits — fallen crea- 
tures like himself — to assist him. And then 
he makes use of wicked men, as well as 
evil spirits, to help him in this work. All 
these taken together, are like a great army 
. of tempters, and Satan is the leader, or 
general, of this army. They are busy all 
the time, in laying temptations along the 
paths in which we have to walk every day. 



THE PROMISED HELP. 101 

But if we are left to ourselves, if we do 
not have the help which God promises us, 
we could no more resist these temptations, 
than an infant could break away from the 
grasp of a mighty giant. 

When Joseph was in the house of Poti- 
phar, he was tempted to commit a great 
sin. But God helped him to remember that 
He was present with, him, and looking at 
him. And this thought gave him power 
to resist the temptation. Joseph said to 
his tempter: — "How can I do this great 
wickedness, and sin against God ? " If we 
could always remember these four words, 
— " Thou God seest me" — it would be a great 
help to us in resisting temptation. 

One day, when Jesus was on earth, he 
saw that Satan was preparing a very dan- 
gerous temptation for the apostle Peter. 
By means of this temptation Satan expected 
to prevent Peter from ever becoming a 
preacher of the gospel, and to cause the 
loss of his soul. And no doubt this result 
would have followed, if Jesus had not helped 



102 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Peter a u the time of that temptation. But 
He said to him: — "I have prayed for thee, 
that thy faith fail not." That prayer of 
Jesus was the only thing that helped Peter 
then, and kept him from being entirely lost 
through that temptation. 

Here are some illustrations of the ways 
in which God helps His people to resist 
temptation. The first may be called — 

TEMPTATION TO DRINK OVERCOME BY PRAYER. 

There was a poor man living in a town 
near Boston, who had become a confirmed 
drunkard. His friends made every effort to 
save him, but in vain. He resolved again 
and again, to break away from the tempta- 
tion to drink, but he could not. He made the 
most solemn vows to reform, but Satan was 
too strong for him. He lost his situation, 
and could get no work. 

Then he concluded to go to Cape Cod, 
and try to get employment in fishing. Here 
he became acquainted with a young man 
who had been a fisherman all his days. "He 



THE PROMISED HELP. 103 

was very kind to me," said this man in 
speaking of it afterwards. " He had a re- 
markably pleasant face, and was always 
ready to show me any favor. One day I 
was so touched by his many kindnesses, 
that I pulled out my iiask of liquor and of- 
fered him a drink. 

"'No,' said he, 'I never taste intoxicating 
liquor, and I have asked the Lord Jesus 
to help me never to touch it.' 

" I looked at him with surprise. 

"'Are you a Christian?' I asked. 

" ' Yes,' said he. 

" ' And does Jesus keep you from using 
intoxicating drink ? ' 

"'He does,' said he, 'and I have no de- 
sire to touch it.' 

"This answer set me to thinking. It 
showed me a new help; one that I had never 
tried. On my way home that night, I said 
to myself: — ' How do I know but that Jesus 
would help me to quit drinking, if I should 
ask Him ? ' As soon as I got to my room, 
I knelt down and told the Lord Jesus what 



104 BIBLE PROMISES. 

a miserable wretch I was; how long I had 
fought against my appetite for strong drink, 
but had always been overcome. I told Him 
that if He would help me to resist the tempta- 
tion to drink, I would give myself up to Him 
forever, and love and serve Him all my days. 
Jesus heard and answered my prayer. He 
took away my love for strong drink. From 
that blessed hour, I have never tasted a drop 
of intoxicating liquor, and have no desire to 
do so. When I gave myself to Jesus, I felt 
that I received help from Him, against every 
enemy of my salvation." 

Certainly the promise of the text was 
fulfilled in that man's experience. 

Our next story will show — 

HOW THE TEMPTATION TO BREAK THE SABBATH 
WAS RESISTED. 

Some years ago, it happened that the 
Prince of Wales, who was afterwards George 
IV., king of England, sent for a tradesman, 
whom he often employed, to attend to some 
business for him on Sunday, as he was pre- 



THE PROMISED HELP. 105 

paring to leave town the next day. This 
tradesman was an earnest Christian man, and 
one who had great regard for the Lord's 
day. The favor and patronage of the Prince 
of Wales, were very valuable to him in his 
business, and he was very unwilling to think 
of offending him, and losing his support. 
Here was a great temptation for him to 
break the Sabbath. But, on the other hand, 
he knew it was contrary to the command of 
God, for him to work on that day. And in a 
matter of this kind he felt that he must obey 
God rather than man. And this thought 
helped him to resist the temptation thus 
brought before him to break the Sabbath. 
He declined to answer the Prince's summons 
on God's holy day. But he took care to be 
at the palace very early the next morning. 

"I sent for you yesterday," said the Prince; 
u why did you not come ? " 

" Please your Koyal Highness, the King 
wanted me." 

"The king! why I thought my father 
never sent for his tradesmen on Sundays." 



106 BIBLE PROMISES. 

u Please your Royal Highness, I do not 
mean the king your father, but God — the 
King of kings. He has told me that I must 
not work on Sundays. And, as I value my 
soul, I dare not disobey His command." 

" That was right," said the Prince. " I 
have nothing more to say. 1 am very sure 
that the man who is faithful to his Master in 
heaven, will be true to his earthly master." 

Here we see how Jesus helped this man 
to resist the temptation to which he was 
exposed, of breaking the fourth command- 
ment. 

We have one other story, on this point of 
our subject. We may call it — 

a Scotchman's struggle with temptation. 

Striker Stowe was the head workman, in 
the large steel works at Glasgow in Scot- 
land. He held the position of "boss striker" 
in those works. All the men in that estab- 
lishment were hard drinkers. Stowe himself 
had been the same, for years. 

One day it was announced among the 



THE PROMISED HELP. 107 

workmen that Stowe had become a Christian, 
and had joined the church. 

The next time one of the men asked him 
to drink, his reply was: " No, my lads, I shall 
never drink any more intoxicating liquor. 
For the Bible says that — 'no drunkards 
shall inherit the kingdom of God.' " 

The men smiled at each other when they 
heard this, and said — " Wait till hot weather 
comes. When he gets as dry as dust, he'll 
give in. He can't help it," 

But right through the hottest summer 
weather, Stowe worked away till the sweat 
was pouring off him in streams; yet he never 
touched a drop of liquor. 

One day the superintendent of the works 
said to him: " Well, Stowe, you used to 
drink a good deal of liquor. Don't you 
miss it ? " 

44 Yes, I do." 

14 But how do you manage to get on with- 
out it?" 

"I'll tell you. See there's my almanac. 
From seven to eight o'clock, this morn- 



108 BIBLE PROMISES. 

ing, I asked the Lord to help me resist this 
temptation to drink. He did so. Then I 
put a dot in my almanac. From eight to 
nine He helped me, and I put down another 
dot Just as I put it down I prayed, '0 
Lord, help me another hour.' So I go on 
through the day, and it keeps me full of 
peace and joy to think that the Lord is near, 
helping me all the time." 

Here we see how beautifully the promise 
of the text was fulfilled in this man's case, 
as the Lord helped him to resist tempta- 
tion. The first way in which we need 
God's promised help is in resisting our 
temptations. 

The second way in which we need this help 

is— IN BEARING OUR BURDENS. 

We all have burdens to bear, of one kind 
or another, in this world. These burdens 
are made up of the cares and trials of life, 
Whether we are rich or poor ; whether we 
are young or old; there is some burden for 
us to bear. Job says that " man is born 
unto trouble as the sparks fly upwards." 



THE PROMISED HELP. 109 

These troubles make up our burdens; and 
in bearing these burdens we need help. 
We are not able of ourselves to bear them. 
But there is one precious promise of the 
Bible that meets us, just here. It is that 
in which David says: — "Cast thy burden 
upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee " 
(Ps. lv. 22). God can put His everlasting 
arms under us; and with the help which 
He thus gives, the heaviest burden will be 
light, and easy to bear. Many of the early 
Christians had all their possessions taken 
away from them, when they became the 
followers of Jesus. This was a heavy bur- 
den for them to bear. Yet God gave them 
such help that they were able to " take 
joyfully the spoiling of their goods.' 5 At 
the time when the apostle Paul became a 
Christian, he had the prospect of great honor 
and riches, in the path of life that was 
opening before him. But, in connecting 
himself with the cause of Jesus, he had 
to let that prospect go. That was a heavy 
burden for him to bear. But the help he 



110 BIBLE PROMISES. 

found in bearing it was so great, that he 
looked on the loss of all earthly things, "as 
a gain that he might win Christ." And 
now let us look at some other illustrations 
of the way in which God helps His people 
in bearing their burdens. 
The first we may call — 

THE ROPE AT SEA. 

"When I made my first sea voyage," 
said a minister of the gospel, " I had great 
difficulty in trying to stand upright. As 
soon as the weather became rough and 
stormy, I found myself staggering like a 
drunken man, and sometimes I would be 
thrown flat upon the deck. One day, after 
tossing about, on this side and that, I saw 
a good strong rope hanging down from the 
rigging. I took a firm hold of it; and oh, 
what a help it was to me ! I didn't mind 
how rough the sea was; or how much the 
vessel tossed about. I could stand up com- 
fortably, so long as I held on to that rope." 

Now, our life in this world is like a voy- 



THE PROMISED HELP. Ill 

age on the ocean. And, when storms of 
trouble overtake us, we often find it hard 
to stand upright. But God has given us 
the precious promises of His word, to be to 
us just what that rope was to the lands- 
man, on his first voyage. If we take them 
one by one, and hold fast on to them, as 
he did to the rope, they will help us to 
bear our burdens; and to stand upright 
with comfort, no matter how hard the 
wind blows, or how much our vessel tosses 
about. 

Our next illustration may be called — 

COMFORT IN TROUBLE. 

A good minister in England told his three 
children one day, that he was going to take 
them to see one of the most interesting 
sights, they would ever meet with. Then 
he went out to walk with them, and led 
them to a poor, miserable hovel. The walls 
were crumbling to decay. The windows 
were broken, and every thing about it told 
of poverty and want. "Now, my dear chil- 



112 BIBLE PROMISES. 

dren," said the father, "do you think that 
any one, living in suck a wretched place 
as this, can be happy ? But in this cottage 
is a poor young man. He lies on a bed 
of straw. He is dying with fever. He has 
nine large painful sores, in different parts 
of his body; and yet he is one of the hap- 
piest men I know of." " How can that be 
possible?" exclaimed the children. "My 
children, that is just what I brought you 
here to see." Then he led them into the 
cottage, and going up to the poor dying 
young man, he said, "Abraham, my friend, 
I have brought my children here to see 
you. I wish them to learn that people can 
be happy in sickness, in poverty, in suffer- 
ing and want; now tell them if it is not so." 

The suffering youth immediately answered, 
" Oh ! yes, sir, it is so. I would not exchange 
my state with the richest man in the country, 
if he did not know and love my precious 
Saviour. Sir, this sickness, and these sores, 
are nothing to me, when God is present 
with me, filling my soul with peace and 



THE PROMISED HELP. 113 

joy. I am indeed truly happy; and every 
hour of my life I thank God, for the riches of 
His grace and goodness to me, in Jesus Christ." 

What a beautiful illustration this is, of the 
way in which God helps His people to bear 
their burdens, no matter how heavy they 
may be! 

I have one other incident to illustrate this 
part of our subject. We may call it — ■ 

THE HEAVY BURDEN MADE LIGHT. 

A Christian mother, named Mrs. Norton, 
had a little daughter born to her. Mrs. N. 
already had three sons, and she had long 
desired to have a daughter, and it was a 
day of gladness, not only to the mother, 
but to all the family, when this little girl 
was born. Her mother nursed her with the 
greatest interest and affection. For a while 
everything went on pleasantly in this family. 

But at length, the mother began to feel 
very uneasy about her child. There was a 
great difference between her, and the other 
children in their infancy. She never smiled, 



114 BIBLE PROMISES. 

or took any notice of her mother, or the 
rest of the family. In her anxiety, Mrs. Nor- 
ton consulted their family physician about it. 
He examined the little one very carefully. 
As he did so his face grew very sad, and 
finally, with his eyes full of tears, he said: 
u My dear friend, I am very sorry for what 
I have now to tell you, but the fact is youi. 
child has no mind. She is an idiot." What 
a blow that was to fall on a fond mother! 
How heavy a burden of sorrow was thus 
fastened upon her! At first she came near 
sinking, under the weight of this great afflic- 
tion. But soon she got over this; and not- 
withstanding the trouble thus brought upon 
her, she always had a calm, cheerful, happy 
look. 

The idiot child proved a blessing to her, 
and to the rest of the family. 

One day a friend said to her: "Mrs. Nor- 
ton, how is it possible for you to be so happy 
and cheerful, when you have such a heavy 
burden of sorrow to bear ? Will you please 
tell me the secret of it ? " 



THE PROMISED HELP. 115 

"That I will gladly do," said Mrs. Norton. 
M This is the greatest affliction I ever had to 
bear. At first I thought it would break 
my heart. I never expected to have one 
happy feeling, as long as I lived. But, as 
T awoke from sleep one morning, soon after 
this trouble came upon me, I heard sound- 
ing in my ears, as a voice from heaven, 
the words which Pharaoh's daughter spoke 
to the mother of Moses, when she put in 
her care, the child which had just been taken 
from the ark of bulrushes, and said : ' Take 
this child and nurse it for me, and I will 
give thee thy wages.' I knew it was my 
Father in heaven who was speaking those 
precious words to me; and it made a won- 
derful change in my thoughts, and feelings, 
towards my poor child. It lightened my 
burden, and gave me all the help I have 
needed in bearing it. Since then I have 
never felt sad or sorrowful about this matter. 
I say to myself — 4 The child is God's. He 
knows what is best for it. All I have to 
do is to nurse it well ; ' and the thought that 



116 BIBLE PROMISES. 

I am doing this for God, makes it a pleasure 
and delight to me. This is the secret of my 
being so cheerful and happy." 

How wonderfully God helped that Chris- 
tian mother to bear her burden. 

The second way in which we need God's 
help is in bearing our burdens. 

The third ivay in which we need God's help 

is IN DOING OUR DUTY. 

Whether we are young or old, we all 
have duties, of one kind or another, to at- 
tend to. At home, or at school, or at our 
place of business, wherever we go, there 
are some things which it is our duty to do. 
And we need help in doing these things. 
And it is just here, that the precious promise 
of our text comes in. When our Saviour 
was on earth, He said to His disciples: 
" Without me ye can do nothing." And 
what was true of them, is equally true of 
you, and me, and all of us. We need help 
in the daily duties that we have to attend 
to. And this is what God promises to give 
us, when He says in our text: "I will help 



THE PROMISED HELP. 117 

thee." And if we only secure this promised , 
help, we shall be able to get comfortably 
through with all our duties. 

The apostle Paul was rejoicing in this 
help, when he said : " 1 can do all things 
through Christ strengthening me." And 
what wonderful things St. Paul w T as able 
to do by the help or strength which he 
received from Jesus ! Like Him he " went 
about doing good." He spent his life in 
making missionary journeys all over the 
earth. Wherever he went, he was occupied 
in telling the story of Jesus and His love; 
and showing men what they must do to 
be saved. We cannot find a better illustra- 
tion anywhere, of the way in which God helps 
His people to do their duty, than we have 
in the life and labors of this great apostle. 
And if we seek it from Him, God is ready 
to give us the same help that He gave to 
St. Paul. The promise of the text — " I will 
help thee" — was fulfilled in St, Paul's case, 
and it will be fulfilled in ours too, if we 
ask for it. 



118 BIBLE PROMISES. 

And now, let us look at some other illus- 
trations of the way in which God gives 
His people the help here promised in doing 
their duty. 

Oar first illustration may be called — 

HELP IN MAKING A SERMON. 

The incident, now to be mentioned, oc- 
curred in my own experience. 

Some years ago, at the close of one of the 
children's services, at the Church of the 
Epiphany, I found, on looking a month 
ahead, that our next service for the young 
would be on the afternoon of Easter day, 
and for that occasion a sermon on the resur- 
rection would be necessary. I felt anxious 
about this; and so, on the evening of the 
next day — Monday — I went to my study, to 
try and lay out that sermon. The text 
chosen for that occasion was our Saviour's 
words to Mary — " I am the resurrection." 
1 wrote down the text, and tried to arrange 
the outline of the sermon. But I could not 
start a single thought. Then I walked up 



THE PROMISED HELP. 119 

and down my study, and tried, and tried 
again, to open up the subject, but in vain. 
I could not do any thing with it. Then I 
kneeled down, and told the Lord about my 
trouble. I pleaded the promise of our text — 
" I will help thee." I asked the Lord to 
fulfil His promise, once more, as He had 
often done before. Then I tried again to 
start my sermon, and kept on trying, till 
it was past ten o'clock; but I could do noth- 
ing with it. I gave it up for the night, and 
prepared for bed. 

In doing this I said to myself: — "Well, 
the promised help has not come yet. But 
I am perfectly sure it will come; for it is God's 
promise, and that cannot fail." 

I rose early the next morning to go to 
church, as we had service at half past eight 
As I was walking up Chestnut Street, on 
my way to church, just as I got opposite 
to Mr. Baldwin's conservatory, next door to 
the American Sunday School Union, I said 
to myself, "Well, how about my sermon 
for the Easter day's service?" And then, 



120 BIBLE PROMISES. 

just as quick as a flash, a beautiful and 
proper plan for that sermon, came into my 
mind. How happy I felt ! I went on my 
way rejoicing. As soon as the service at 
church was over, I hastened to my study, 
put down the plan of that sermon, and then 
went to work and wrote it out, just as it 
had been suggested to me. 

Now, if the angel Gabriel had met me, 
that morning in Chestnut street; if he had 
handed me a roll, saying, as he did so — 
"This is the plan for that sermon on the 
resurrection, which the Lord wishes you to 
write;" — I should have known where that 
sermon came from. I saw no angel, and 
received no roll. But, I am just as sure 
that my Father in heaven gave me the plan 
of that sermon, as though the angel had 
brought it to me. The promise of the text 
was fulfilled in my experience then. The 
Lord helped me to make that sermon. 

I have only one other illustration to give 
of this subject. We may call it — 



THE PROMISED HELP. 121 



HOW A LITTLE BOY WAS HELPED TO DO HIS DUTY, 
BOTH AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL. 

Elbert Collins had entered the primary 
department of the public school, and had 
been going there for several months. He 
had made up his mind always to be at school, 
before the bell quit ringing in the morn- 
ing, so as never to get a bad mark for be- 
ing late. 

But December had come, and the morn- 
ings were short; and there was a lively 
time in his mother's little home, because 
there were so many things to be done by 
nine o'clock, when the school bell stopped 
ringing. 

One morning, Elbert's mother asked him 
to mind the baby, while she went round 
the corner, to get some yeast from their 
neighbor Mrs. Brown. This was just a little 
while before school time. Mrs. Collins got 
talking with Mrs. Brown, and forgot all 
about Elbert and the school. 

The little fellow, with his over-shoes and 



122 BIBLE PROMISES. 

scarf on, and his cap in his hand, stood by 
the cradle rocking it, but keeping his eye 
on the clock. Five minutes — ten minutes 
passed away — and there were only five min- 
utes more before the bell would stop ringing 
— and he would get a bad mark for being 
late. He went to the door and looked tow- 
ards the corner. But his mother was not 
in sight. Then he put his hand to his mouth, 
and shouted, as loud as he could: — " Mamma 
— come — home ! " But there was no answer. 
Then he ran back to the cradle, saying — 
" 0, dear, dear, what shall I do? I cannot 
leave the darling baby, and yet, I do so 
want to get to school before the bell stops 
ringing ! " 

Then a happy thought came into his mind. 
He said to himself — "I'll take the baby to 
school with me." So he took the baby out 
of the cradle, wrapped an old shawl about 
her, and snatching her half-filled bottle of 
milk, he dashed out of the room, and ran 
towards the school, as fast as his stout young 
legs would carry him. The baby was a little 



THE PROMISED HELP. 123 

mite, only two months old, and Elbert was 
nearly six, and large for his age. 

Just after leaving the hou-se he met two 
women whom he knew: u Why, Elbert? " said 
one of them, " what on earth ! — " but he 
bounded past, and reached the school just 
before the bell stopped ringing. He laid 
his funny burden down in the arms of his 
astonished teacher. 

u I couldn't leave her at home," he said, 
M and I couldnt be late, so I brought her along. 
She'll go to sleep, and be real good." 

The teacher began to unwind the shawl. 
Then all the scholars saw a surprised, half- 
smothered looking little baby, still in her 
night gown, with one bare foot sticking out, 
and her little fists tightly clenched, as if de- 
fying any one to take her home. 

The teacher was a good natured young 
lady, and, as she looked at this strange sight, 
she laughed till she almost dropped the baby 
on the floor. The whole school laughed with 
her. This brought the principal of the school 
in, from the next room, to see what was the 



124 BIBLE PROMISES. 

matter. He was a grave, stern looking man; 
and there was a frown upon his face, as he 
entered the room. But no sooner did he see 
the strange looking tiny baby there, than the 
frown passed off, and he laughed too, as 
heartily as any of them. 

While this was going on at school, Elbert's 
mother had returned to her home. She went 
first to the cradle — but to her surprise and 
horror the baby was not there. Then she 
ran through the four rooms of her little 
home, but could see nothing of either of her 
children. The dreadful thought came into 
her mind, that they had been stolen, like 
poor little Charley Ross. This almost made 
her crazy. She put on her bonnet and shawl 
and hastened into the street. There, the first 
person she met was the woman who had 
spoken to Elbert when he was hurrying to 
school. " What's the matter, Mrs. Collins ? " 
she asked. u O, I don't know what's become 
of my children? " " Why," said the woman, 
"I met Elbert, a little while ago, kiting along 
like the wind, with the baby in his arms. 




B. Pro 



p. 124. 



THE PROMISED HELP. 125 

Leastways I thought it was the baby from 
the way he carried it." 

" Is it possible that he has taken her to 
school?" Then she started, and ran for the 
school as fast as she could go. Arriving 
there, panting, and out of breath, she en- 
tered, and asked — u Is — as — my — my baby 
here ? " 

The baby was handed to her, and wrap- 
ping her cloak around it, she thanked the 
teacher, and walked home feeling very happy. 

At first Mrs. Collins felt angry with Elbert 
for taking the baby to school; but, when she 
remembered that it was done out of his 
desire not to be late and get a bad mark, her 
anger passed away, and she saw that she 
was to blame herself, for staying so long at 
Mrs. Brown's. And when she found that the 
baby was none the worse for her little run- 
away, she had to laugh over it too. And 
when Elbert came home to dinner, she made 
an apology to him for staying away so long. 
Then he hugged her and kissed her, and said 
he was glad he tw didn't leave the baby, 



126 BIBLE PROMISES. 

'cause she might have been burned up; and 
he thanked God for helping him to do his 
duty, both at home and at school." 

We have spoken now of three ways, in 
which God fulfils the promise of the text, 
by helping His people. 

In the first place, He helps us to resist our 
temptations; in the second place, He helps 
us to bear our burdens; and in the third 
place, He helps us to do our duty. 

Let us always look to Him for help, and 
then we shall be able to resist our tempta- 
tions — to bear our burdens — and to do our 
duty with glory to God, and with comfort 
to ourselves! 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 

" Those who seek me early shall find me." 
Pboyeebs viii. 17. 

This is one of God's precious promises for 
the young. It is intended to encourage us 
all to do what our Saviour was speaking 
of when He said: — " Seek ye — first — the 
kingdom of God, and His righteousness." 

There are many things we have to do in 
this world, which we cannot begin to do 
till we reach a certain age. Suppose for 
instance, that one of the larger boys here 
present, should make up his mind to be a 
minister in the Episcopal Church, could he 
begin at once to preach? No; not at all. 
He might begin at once to study for the 
ministry. But he could not begin to preach 
till he was ordained; and he could not be 

(129) 



130 BIBLE PROMISES, 

ordained, till he was twenty-one years of 
age. 

And so, if you wanted to be a physician, 
or a lawyer, or a merchant, or a mechanic, 
— you could not enter immediately, on the 
duties of any of these pursuits. You would 
have to serve a sort of apprenticeship, to 
the business on which you wished to enter, 
and wait till you had learned how to do 
it, before you could begin its duties. 

But it is very different with the matter 
of seeking Jesus, or trying to be a Christian. 
For this, it is not necessary to wait any long- 
er. The youngest child here present, may 
begin at once to seek and to serve Jesus. 

" When little Samuel woke, 
And heard his Maker's voice," 

I suppose he was not more than six or seven 
years old. And Moses, and David, and Jer- 
emiah, and John the Baptist, and Timothy, 
began to seek God even earlier than that. 
God says to each of you, my young friends; 
— "Noiv y is the accepted time, now is the 



THE TROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 131 

day of salvation." If you only ask God to 
help you, by His grace and Holy Spirit, you 
may begin at once to seek, and to serve the 
blessed Saviour. When He speaks in the 
text of our seeking Him "early," He does 
not mean at any particular age. This leaves 
the way open, for any or all, of us to begin 
to seek God at once, however young we 
may be. No one need wait another day 
or hour. And the promise is: " Those who 
seek me early shall find me." And when 
we find Jesus, as our friend and Saviour, 
who can tell what it is we find in Him ? 
We have heard of men finding gold mines, 
or diamond mines; and those who do so are 
considered very fortunate. But suppose that 
all the gold, and silver, and diamond mines 
in the world were united in one; and sup- 
pose that that one mine had been discov- 
ered by some favored individual, and that 
all its treasures belonged to him ; how much 
he would be envied! And yet, to find God, 
would be infinitely better for us, than to 
find that mine. The treasures of that mine 



132 BIBLE PROMISES. 

would soon perish, or pass away; but the 
good things we find in God will last for- 
ever, and make us always happy. 

Our sermon to-day will be about the prom- 
ise of finding God. And there are three good 
things we are sure to have, when we find 
Him. 

The first of these is — pardon. 

What a blessing pardon is, we never can 
understand, till we feel the burden of our 
sins. We never can tell what a blessing 
food is, till we are hungry. We never can 
tell how much the cool, clear water from the 
fountain is worth, till we are parched with 
thirst. We never know how valuable medi- 
cine is, till we are suffering from the pains 
of sickness. And so it is with pardon. It 
is only when we find out what a terrible 
evil sin is; when we know that God is angry 
with us, on account of it; and that we never 
can be happy till we get our sins forgiven; 
only then, can we see, and feel, that pardon 
is the greatest of all blessings. Suppose that 
a man has a poisonous serpent coiled around 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 133 

his body. It is biting, and stinging him 
all the time. Could he have any comfort 
day or night? Xot at all. He might be 
worth millions of money, and be living in 
one of the finest houses in the country; but 
he could not find any enjoyment either from 
his money, or his home. The one thing 
which that man would need, above every 
thing else, would be, to get rid of that 
biting, stinging serpent. Here is a good 
story to illustrate this point of our subject. 
We may call it — 

THE POWER OF THE BLOOD. 

A traveller in India fell asleep one night, 
upon the damp, warm ground. Early in 
the morning, he was awakened by feeling 
pricking, stinging pains all over the surface 
of his body. 

On getting up to see what was the matter, 
he found that a swarm of big gray leeches 
had fastened on his flesh, and were busy 
sucking up his blood. They gave him a 
great deal of pain, and he felt that he never 



134 _ BIBLE PROMISES. 

could enjoy anything till he got rid of them. 
The first thing that he thought of doing was 
to tear them off with his hand. 

But a native servant, acquainted with 
the ways of the country, when he saw what 
he was about to do, came up to him, and 
said: "Please, master, don't do that. If you 
tear them off in that way, parts of their 
bodies will remain in your flesh, and breed 
corruption and decay, that will cause you 
great suffering. Wait a little while, and I 
will get them all off for you, without any 
trouble." 

Then he went and got a particular kind 
of herb. He steeped it in warm water, and 
then brought it to his master. Putting his 
hand into this basin of water, he gently 
bathed the different parts of the body, to 
which the leeches were clinging; and very 
soon they all dropped quietly off, and the 
traveller was relieved. 

Now when that poor man awoke from 
sleep, and found those leeches clinging to 
him, giving him so much pain, and threat- 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 135 

ening him with such serious consequences, 
we may well regard him as representing 
our condition, when we wake up to see 
what sinners we are, and what danger we 
are in from our sins. The great thing which 
that man needed, was to be rid of his leeches. 
He could have had no comfort in anything, 
till that end was secured. And the great 
thing that we need, as sinners, is to have 
our sins pardoned, and so to get rid of all 
the sad consequences which must follow if 
they are not put away. 

But how are we to do this ? It was the 
application of that prepared water, which 
relieved the man of his leeches; and so, 
it is the application of the precious blood 
of Christ to our souls, that will secure to 
us the pardon of our sins, and save us from 
all the sad consequences that must follow 
if they are not pardoned. 

I have one other story here, to show that 
when men feel the burden of their sins, 
they know that pardon is the greatest bless- 
ing they can receive; and that until they 



136 BIBLE PROMISES. 

obtain it, they never can be happy. And 
then, there is nothing in the world, that 
they would not be willing to do, in order 
to secure this pardon. 

Some time ago, an English missionary in 
India was preaching to a company of Hin- 
doos, in a grove, by the road-side. The text, 
from which he was speaking, was — I John 
i. 7: "And the blood of Jesus Christ His 
Son cleanseth us from all sin." Among his 
hearers was a Hindoo, in just the state of 
feeling of which we have been speaking. 
He was burdened under a sense of his sins, 
and desired, above all things, to get rid of 
this burden. He was willing to go any- 
where, and do anything, if he could only 
get his sins pardoned. He had consulted 
several priests, of the Hindoo religion, in 
which he had been brought up. One of 
them advised him to go and wash himself 
seven times, in the sacred river Ganges. He 
went and washed; but found no relief. At 
the advice of other priests he visited different 
temples, one after another, and made costly 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 137 

offerings there, but it was all in vain. His 
burden still pressed upon him. He could 
get no pardon for his sins. He was now 
on his way to a temple several hundred 
miles distant. He had been told that he 
must go there on foot, with pebble stones 
in his shoes. The priest told him that this 
would please the god of that temple, and 
perhaps he would give him the pardon he 
so much desired. His feet were already so 
very sore, that every step he took caused 
him very great suffering. 

This poor man was wonderfully inter- 
ested in listening to the words of the mis- 
sionary. After the service was over he 
waited to see him, and to hear more about 
the way of salvation that is in Jesus. The 
missionary's words to him were like cold 
water to a thirsty soul. He drank them in 
with unspeakable delight. He embraced the 
Saviour, as the missionary made Him known 
to him. Then, taking off his shoes, he threw 
away the pebbles that were in them, saying 
as he did so: — "No more journeys to idol 



138 BIBLE PROMISES, 

temples. Jesus is the true God. Pardon 
through His blood! This meets my wants. 
This is what I have long sought, but sought 
in vain. I have found it now, and it makes 
me perfectly happy ! " 

This man sought Jesus as soon as he knew 
about Him. He sought him as early as he 
could, and found Him. And in finding Him, 
he found the greatest of all blessings — the 
pardon of his sins. 

The first good thing promised to those 
who find Jesus is — pardon. 

The second good thing, promised to those who 
find Jesus, is — peace. 

Jesus is called — " the Prince of Peace." 
When the angels sang their song of glad- 
ness over His birth, they spoke of Him as 
having come to bring " peace on earth." 
His gospel is called "the gospel of peace." 
The apostle Paul tells us that when we be- 
come Christians, by exercising faith in Jesus, 
we " have peace with God." With the 
wicked — and this means all of us till we be- 
come Christians — " God is angry every day." 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 139 

How dreadful it is to think of a great Being 
like God, from whom we can never get 
away, who is always present everywhere, 
and who is able to make all things work 
together to do us harm — how dreadful it is 
to think of such a Being as angry with 
us! And yet, until we seek and find Jesus, 
this is just the way that God feels towards 
us. But to know that God is at peace with 
us; that He thinks and feels kindly tow- 
ards us; that He is trying in every way to 
bless us; and, as St. Paul says, is making 
all " things w^ork together for our good " ; can 
there possibly be any greater comfort than 
this? And yet, when we seek Jesus early, 
as our text says — this is what we find in 
Him. He makes peace with us, and be- 
comes our friend for time and for eternity. 
This is enough to encourage every one to 
seek Him. 

Let us look at some illustrations of the 
wonderful effect of that peace, which Jesus 
gives to those who find him. The first we 
may call — 



140 BIBLE PROMISES. 



THE BRIGHT SIDE. 



A Christian lady came home from a walk 
one day, and said to her sister: — " Jeannie, 
dear, I have just been taught one of the 
best lessons I have ever learned. It has 
been like a sermon to me." 

" Do tell me all about it," said her sister. 

" Well, just before I turned the corner, on 
my way home, I met our afflicted friend Mrs. 
Jackson. We stopped and chatted awhile; 
and as we parted, with a beautiful smile light- 
ing her patient face, she said, — ' I am so glad 
I met you, Mary, dear, for it will be something 
cheering to tell Bessie about, when I get 
home. Bessie says — "There's always some- 
thing pleasant." Good-by.' As soon as she 
was gone I said to myself — 4 How can poor 
Mrs. Jackson be so patient, and cheerful ? ' 
You know what she has passed through. 
Once she had every thing the world could 
give, to make her comfortable and happy. 
Now, she has lost all the world can take 
away from her. Her husband — her health — 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 141 

her property — her friends have all been taken 
from her. The only family tie left to her is 
poor Bessie. But she suffers greatly from 
a spine disease, and is totally blind! And 
yet, Mrs. Jackson never complains, whatever 
happens; while poor Bessie says — ' There's 
always something pleasant, 1 Yon know they 
are both Christians. They have sought and 
found Jesus. And the lesson I have just 
learned, is about the kind of blessing they 
have received from Him. It is something 
which can help them to bear their heavy 
trials so patiently, and which can lead 
Bessie, notwithstanding the suffering from 
her spine, and her blindness, to say, ; There's 
always something pleasant,' I hope I shall 
always remember the lesson I have learned 
to day; and try never to worry, or complain, 
whatever may happen." 

That is a good lesson for us all to learn. 
And the blessing we shall find in Jesus, 
when we get the pardon and the peace He 
gives, will help us to feel and act just as Mrs. 
Jackson and her daughter Bessie did. 



142 BIBLE PROMISES. 

They were only doing what the prophet 
Habakkuk did, when he said: "Although the 
rigtree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit 
be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall 
fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the 
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and 
there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I 
will rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God 
of my salvation." That good prophet had 
sought and found God, and the blessing he 
received from Him was enough to make him 
happy, when he had lost everything else. 

Our next illustration may be called — 

A SCENE IN INDIA. 

" One evening about sunset," says an 
English missionary in India, u I was walk- 
ing with one of the native members of my 
church. In the course of our walk we 
passed near a large village. As we went 
by, my companion pointed to a small hut, 
in the outskirts of the village, and said: — 
'In yonder hut is the only Christian to be 
found in this village. Ten years ago he 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 143 

sought and found the Saviour. But ever 
since then lie has had great trials to bear. 
His father and mother turned him out of 
their home. His friends forsook him; his 
neighbors persecuted him; and during all 
those years, he has found it hard work to sup- 
port himself, and get a living. But he has 
stood his ground manfully, and maintained a 
consistent Christian character, all that time. 
And the heathen around him have learned 
to have confidence in him; and his business 
is reviving; for the people say he sells the 
best things, and always means just what he 
says.' 

" I made up my mind," said the mission- 
ary, " to go and see this Hindoo Christian as 
soon as possible. So a day or two after our 
conversation, I made him a visit. From 
what had been told me, about the way in 
which he had been forsaken and persecuted, 
I thought of course that he must be feeling 
very lonely and sad. In my conversation 
with him, I spoke of his loneliness and sad- 
ness, and tried to say such things as would 



144 BIBLE PROMISES. 

be likely to comfort one who was having 
such feelings. But to my surprise, with his 
eyes full of tears, he looked me earnestly in 
the face, and said : — c 0, sir, please don't 
talk to me in that way. How can I feel 
lonely, when Jesus is always with me, as He 
was with the three Hebrews in the fiery 
furnace, and with Daniel in the lions' den ? 
And how can I feel sad, when I know, as the 
apostle Paul says, that He is making all 
things work together for my good.' 

" I looked at the man with wonder," said 
the missionary. u And then I said to my- 
self — what a blessing this poor man has 
found in Jesus ! It rs a blessing that can 
take the place of all other things " 

This man's experience is just such as some 
one has described in these sweet lines — 

" Lonely, dear Lord ! how can I be 

With thy sweet presence here ? 
Thy strength in weakness to make strong; 

Thy hand to wipe each tear? 
Lonely, dear Lord ! I only am 

When wandering from thy side, 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 145 

But heaviest crosses light become 

If I in thee abide. 
O blessed Saviour ! faithful Friend, 

When earthly friends forsake, 
Thy presence lights life's darkest hour, 

And earth a heaven doth make." 

There is one other illustration which we 
may call — 

THE DYING SOLDIER. 

" Put me down," said a wounded Prussian 
soldier, at the battle of Sedan, to his com- 
panions, who were carrying him away; "put 
me down, I'm dying. Don't trouble your- 
selves to carry me any further." 

They put him down and returned to the 
fight. A few minutes after an officer saw 
the poor man weltering in his blood, and 
said to him: — "Can I do anything for you, 
my friend ? " 

"No, thank you, sir. I am dying." 

" Shall I get you a drink of water ? " said 
the kind-hearted offioer. 

"No, thank you, sir." 



14:6 BIBLE PROMISES. 

''•Is there nothing I can do for you?" 

"There is one thing, for which I would 
be much obliged to you. Please open my 
knapsack. You will find a New Testament 
there. Open it at the fourteenth chapter of St. 
John. Near the end of the chapter you will 
find a verse about — 'Peace.' Please read it." 

The officer did so, and read the words: 
" Peace I leave with you ; my peace I give 
unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, 
neither let it be afraid." 

"Thank you, sir," said the dying man. 
"I have that peace; I am going to that 
Saviour. I want no more." These were 
his last words. That man had sought and 
found Jesus. And the peace which He gave 
him, in his dying hour met his wants, and 
made him happy, as nothing else in the 
world could have done. 

The second good thing promised to those 
who find Jesus is — "peace. 

The third good thing promised to them is — 

PROSPERITY. 

This does not mean that when we begin 




p. 146. 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 147 

to serve God, He will always make us suc- 
cessful in our business, and cause us to be- 
come rich in worldly things. But it means, 
that, in addition to the pardon and peace 
which he promises, He will give us all the 
help and grace we need, to make us good 
and happy. And this is the best kind of 
prosperity. It is a thousand times better, 
to have the grace of God working effectually 
in our souls, than to have all the gold, and 
silver, and worldly wealth, that it is possible 
to gain. And from the time when we seek 
and find Jesus, this is just what we may 
expect. God's promise to each of us is: — 
"From this day will I bless you," (Hag. ii. 19). 
This means from the day when we begin 
to love and serve Him. And it is true, as 
Solomon says: — "that the blessing of the 
Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no 
sorrow." If God sees that it will be best 
for any of us to be rich in this world's 
goods, then His blessing will be sure to 
make us so. But if He sees, that, if we are 
rich in worldly things, our souls will not 



148 BIBLE PROMISES. 

prosper; then, God will leave us poor in the 
things of this world, but, as St. Paul says, 
"rich in faith, and heirs of His glorious 
kingdom." But w^hen we seek, and find 
God, we may be very sure that His blessing 
will follow us, a,nd secure to us just the 
kind of prosperity which He sees will be the 
best for us. Sometimes God makes His peo- 
ple prosperous in worldly things, as well as 
in those that are spiritual. At other times 
He keeps them back from worldly prosper- 
ity, but makes their souls to prosper. We 
have illustrations in the Bible, of both these 
kinds of prosperity. We have a good illus- 
tration of the experience of worldly pros- 
perity, in the case of Joseph. He sought 
God early and found Him. And wonderful 
the prosperity was which followed Joseph ! 
He had indeed a very trying path to walk 
in, before he reached the prosperity that 
awaited him. He was cruelly torn away 
from the arms of his loving father, by his 
unfeeling brethren. He was sold as a slave 
into Egypt. Who can tell what trials of 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 1-19 

feeling Joseph must have had, in passing 
through all this part of his history? He was 
successful there for a little while; and then, 
on a false accusation, he was cast into prison. 
He was kept there for several years. Yet 
even there he was prosperous; for the Lord 
was with him, and he had the charge of 
everything there. But one day, from that 
gloomy prison, he rose, at a single bound, 
to the highest position in Egypt, next to 
that of King Pharaoh. He rode in the sec- 
ond chariot in the kingdom ; and they cried 
before him — u Bow the knee." Until the day 
of his death, he was the greatest, the most 
honored, and prosperous man in all the land 
of Egypt. Surely Joseph found prosperity in 
serving God. 

And then in Daniel, we have another il- 
lustration of the same kind of prosperity. 
When a youth he was carried captive to 
Babylon. He was poor, and unknown, and 
no one ever expected that he would be 
successful there. But, like Joseph, he had 
sought God early and found Him. And 



150 BIBLE PROMISES. 

God blessed him with the most surprising 
prosperity. He rose from one position of 
honor and dignity to another, till, like Jos- 
eph in Egypt, he stood next to the king, 
in what was then the mightiest kingdom 
in the world. And he continued in that 
high office, not through one reign only, 
but through the reigns of several suc- 
cessive kings. What a prosperous man 
Daniel was, both in temporal and spiritual 
things! 

And then, we have a Bible illustration 
of one of God's servants, who had no 
prosperity in worldly things; but who was 
wonderfully prosperous in spiritual things. 
I refer to the apostle Paul. Before his 
conversion, he had the prospect of great 
honors and riches. But when he became 
a Christian those bright prospects faded 
away. He endured the loss of all earthly 
things. He never had any worldly pros- 
perity. But he was wonderfully prosperous 
in all spiritual things. He was a very giant 
of a Christian. Next to our blessed Lord 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 151 

Himself, no one ever lived who did so 
much good as St. Paul did. And how 
happy he was in doing his work, we see 
in one little incident mentioned of him. 
In the city of Philippi, on a certain occa- 
sion, he was put in prison for preaching 
the gospel. His feet were made fast in the 
stocks, and his back was torn and bleeding, 
from the stripes which had been laid upon 
him; yet still he spent the night in sing- 
ing, out of the gladness of his heart, to the 
glory and praise of God. A prosperous 
man St. Paul was in all that pertained to 
his soul. 

And when we seek and find Jesus, we 
shall have prosperity in one, or other, or 
both of the ways that we have spoken of. 
If God wants us to have worldly prosperity, 
He expects us to act in such a way, as 
will help to secure it. Joseph did this; 
and so did Daniel. And we must do the 
same, if we hope to prosper in our worldly 
affairs. 

I have just one short incident to illus- 



152 BIBLE PROMISES. 

trate this point of our subject. We may- 
call it — 

HOW A BOY PROSPERED. 

Robbie Davis was a lad about ten years 
old. But, young as he was, he had sought 
and found the Saviour. He was expecting 
to prosper, and was trying to do all he 
could to secure the prosperity that he de- 
sired. His mother was a poor widow, un- 
able to support him, and he had made up 
his mind, with his mother's consent, to try 
and get a situation on board a ship, and go 
to sea. So going down to one of the 
wharves in Boston, where he lived, he went 
up to a well known merchant, and said: — 
u Sir, have you any situation on board your 
ship? I want to earn something." 

" What can you do ? " asked the merchant. 

" I can try to do whatever I am told to 
do," was the boy's answer. 

" What have you done ? " 

"I have sawed and split all mother's 
wood, for nigh on to two years." 



ThE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 153 

"And what have you not done?" asked 
the gentleman, who had a queer way of 
putting things. 

" Well, sir,'' said the boy, after a moment's 
pause, " I haven't whispered once in school 
for a whole year." 

"That's enough," said the merchant; 
"You may ship aboard this vessel; and I 
hope to see you the captain of her some 
day. A boy who can master a wood-pile, 
and bridle his tongue, is made of good stuff, 
and is bound to prosper." 

Now we have spoken of three blessings 
which God promises to give to those who 
seek Him early, and find Him. 

The first is pardon; the second is peace; 
and the third is prosperity. 

But, when compared to all the blessings 
that are found in Jesus, these are only 
like three drops of water taken out of the 
ocean. There is no end to the blessings 
He has to give to His people. I will close 
this sermon with some very precious lines 
on this subject. I do not know by whom 



154 BIBLE PROMISES. 

they are written. But I never get tired 
of repeating them. They are called — 

WHAT CHRIST IS TO THOSE WHO KNOW HIM. 

"What the breast is at the birth, 
What the soil is to the earth, 
What the gem is to the mine, 
What the grape is to the vine, 
What the bloom is to the tree, 
That — is Jesus Christ to me. 

"What the string is to the lute, 
What the breath is to the flute, 
What the spring is to the watch, 
What the nerve is to the touch 
What the breeze is to the sea, 
That — is Jesus Christ to me. 

"What the estate is to the heir, 
What the autumn to the year, 
What the seed is to the farm, 
What the sunbeam to the corn, 
What the flower is to the bee, 
That — is Jesus Christ to me. 

" What the light is to the eye, 
What the sun is to the sky, 



THE PROMISE OF FINDING GOD. 155 

What the sea is to the river, 
"What the hand is to the giver, 
What a friend is to the plea, 
That — is Jesus Christ to me. 

11 What culture is unto the waste, 
What honey is unto the taste, 
What fragrance is unto the smell, 
Or springs of water to a well, 
What beauty is in all I see, 
All this, and more is Christ to me." 



VI. 
THE PROMISED BLESSING. 



VI. 

THE PROMISED BLESSING. 

"From this day will I bless you" — Haggai ii. 19. 

The prophet Haggai lived about five hundred 
years before the birth of our Saviour. Many- 
years before he wrote the words of our text, 
the king of Babylon had sent a great array 
against Jerusalem, and destroyed it. The 
beautiful temple which Solomon built, for 
the worship of God, had been left in ruins; 
and the people of Israel had been carried 
captives to Babylon. After that captivity 
had lasted for seventy years, the people had 
been allowed to return to their own country. 
Large numbers of them had gone back. The 
walls of Jerusalem, and many of its dwelling 
houses, had been rebuilt. But the temple of 
God was still in ruins. The prophet Haggai 
had been sent by God to encourage the peo- 

(159) 



160 BIBLE PROMISES. 

pie of Israel to rebuild that temple. At first 
they were unwilling to begin this work. 
But after the prophet had talked to them 
about it, they made up their minds to obey 
the command of God, and to begin to build 
the temple. Then God sent to them, by the 
prophet, the precious promise which we have 
taken for our present text. He said to them 
— " From this day will I bless you." Just 
as soon as they determined to keep God's 
commandment, and do what He told them 
to do, God said He would bless them. And 
He says the same to each of us. 

Our souls are like temples. The apostle 
Paul, in writing to the Corinthian Christians, 
said: "Ye are the temple of the living God" 
(II Cor. vi. 16). But sin has left the temple 
of our souls in ruins. God wishes to have 
these temples repaired, for His glory and 
for our good. And when any of us begin 
to love and serve God, then, like the Jews 
in the time of the prophet Haggai, we are 
beginning to rebuild God's temple that was 
in ruins. This is what God wants us to do. 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 1G1 

And He gives us the same promise that He 
gave to the Jews. When we begin in ear- 
nest, to love and serve Him, arid so to rebuild 
the ruined temple of our souls, He says to 
[each of ns: "From this day will I bless yon." 

Our sermon to-day is about the blessing 
promised to those who serve God. And if 
you ask what God's blessing will do for 
us ? I wish to speak of three things, that 
it does for all who receive it. 

In the first place, "the blessing of the Lord 11 
ivill make its — rich. 

In the tenth chapter of the book of Prov- 
erbs, and the twenty-second verse, Solomon 
says: — "The blessing of the Lord maketh 
rich." But this does not mean, that when 
we begin to serve God, we are sure to have 
plenty of gold, and silver, and worldly pos- 
sessions. The meaning is that God's bless- 
ing will make us rich, by giving us His 
love, and grace, and favor, so that we 
shall be truly happy. We often see men, 
who are very rich in the things of this world, 
but yet are wretched, and miserable. 



162 BIBLE PROMISES. 

We have a good illustration, of this part 
of our subject, in our Saviour's parable of 
the rich man and Lazarus. 

The rich man, we are told, was clothed in 
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously 
every day. No doubt he had plenty of ser- 
vants to wait upon him; and he rode in his 
carriage, whenever he wanted to go any- 
where. 

But Lazarus was a poor beggar. He was 
laid every day, at the rich man's gate, ask- 
ing to be fed with the crumbs which fell 
from the rich man's table; and his body was 
full of sores. Now, if this was all we knew 
of these two men; and any one should ask 
us which of them we would rather be? it 
would be natural to say, — "why the rich 
man of course." But, if we should wait a 
little while, till Jesus tells us some more 
about them, we should change our minds. 
The parable goes on to say, that by and by 
the beggar died, and was carried by the 
angels into Abraham's bosom. That was the 
way in which the Jews used to speak of 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 1G3 

heaven. Abraham was the father of their 
nation. They thought him the best and 
greatest man that ever lived. And to get 
near to him, and especially to lean on his 
bosom, as Lazarus did, they thought was the 
best and happiest place in heaven. But it 
was just there, that the angels carried Laza- 
rus when he died. 

And not long after, we are told that 
"the rich man also died; and was buried." 
He had, no doubt, a costly funeral. But did 
the angels carry him to Abraham's bosom? 
Ah! no. For the next thing we hear about 
him is — that he went to the bad place. There 
he was in great torment. And when he 
lifted up his eyes, he saw Abraham in heaven, 
and Lazarus — the poor beggar, that used to 
sit at his gate every day, when they were 
on earth — "in Abraham's bosom." And then 
he offered up a prayer to him, and said: — " I 
pray thee, father Abraham, that thou wouldst 
send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of 
his finger in water, and cool my tongue: for 
I am tormented in this flame." But Abra- 



164 BIBLE PROMISES. 

ham said: — "Son, remember, that thou in 
thy life time receivedst thy good things, and 
Lazarus evil things; but now, he is comforted, 
and thou art tormented." And then he told 
him, that there was a great gulf fixed, be- 
tween the place where Lazarus was, and 
where he was, so that it was impossible to 
pass from one of them to the other. 

Now, which of these two men was the 
best off? Lazarus, of course. What good 
did the rich man's money do him, in that 
place of torment? None at all. He could 
not buy one drop of water to cool his tongue, 
in the flame from which he was suffering. 
But how different it was with Lazarus ! 
He had u the blessing of the Lord"; and it 
made him rich indeed. He had every thing 
he could desire to make him happy. Lazarus 
was the rich man then. And he is rich in 
heaven to-day ; yes, and he will be so forever, 

I have another illustration of this part 
of our subject. It is something like our Sa- 
viour's parable of the rich man and Lazarus. 
We may call it — 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 165 

RICH IN FAITH. 

One day a wealthy English gentleman 
was riding on horseback, over his large 
estate. Suddenly he drew up the bridle to 
stop his horse. Then he listened, as he 
thought he heard some one speaking. On 
looking over the hedge, he saw a poor man, 
who had long been employed in breaking 
stones on his roads, and who was generally 
called "John the stone-breaker." Looking 
at him a moment, the rich man said: " John, 
you fool, what are you talking to yourself 
about ? " 

u Please, sir," said John, " I wasn't speak- 
ing to myself. I. was just asking God's bless- 
ing on my dinner." 

u Ha ! ha ! " laughed the rich man ; " and 
pray what have you got for your dinner, 
John ? " 

"Well, sir," replied John, "I've only got 
a crust of bread, and a mug of pure water 
from the brook; but, sir, it's a dainty meal 
with God's blessing on it." 



166 BIBLE PROMISES. 

"Well, well," said his master, "you can 
do as you please; but it would be a long time 
before I would ask God's blessing, on such a 
dinner as that. I wish you much good from 
the blessing, John," And then he rode off. 

Still John enjoyed his dinner. And with 
the blessing of God in his heart, making him 
feel happy now, in spite of his poverty; and 
happier still in the hope of heaven, he felt 
that he was much better off than his rich 
master, who knew nothing of Jesus, and 
His love. 

One afternoon, not long after this, John's 
rich master was walking in his garden, when 
he thought he heard some one say: " The 
richest man in the comity will die to-night" 
This startled him very much. For supposing 
that he was the richest man in the county, 
he said to himself: u Is it possible that 1 
must die to - night ? " This alarmed him 
greatly. 

He hurried home at once. Then he sent 
for his lawyer, and his physician. When they 
arrived he was in bed, in a state of great 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 167 

excitement. He called the lawyer to his 
bedside first, to settle all his business mat- 
ters. When this was done the lawyer went 
oft*. 

Then he called to his physician, and asked 
him, very earnestly, to do all he could to 
save his life. The doctor was greatly sur- 
prised. He felt his pulse. He examined his 
tongue, and asked him a number of ques- 
tions. These were all answered satisfactor- 
ily. Then \e said, " Why, my friend, there 
is nothing the matter with you. You are 
perfectly well.''' 

But in great alarm, he declared: " You 
must be mistaken, Doctor. I shall die before 
the morning." 

The trouble with him was, that he was 
terribly frightened at the thought of dying. 
He felt that he was a sinner; and that with 
his sins all unpardoned, he was not prepared 
to meet his God. 

The doctor gave him some medicine to 
make him sleep, and promised to stay with 
him through the night. But he never ^lept 



168 BIBLE PROMISES. 

a wink. He was tossing restlessly on his 
bed, all the night. 

As soon as the morning dawned, the 
doctor advised him to get up, and go out, 
and take a walk before breakfast. He did 
go out, pale and trembling, and fearing that 
at every step he might drop down dead. He 
had not gone far, however, before he was met 
by one of the poor men who worked on his 
farm. Taking off* his cap, and making a 
polite bow, he said— 

" Please, sir, may I speak to you?" 

"Of course you may. What have you to 
say?" 

" Well, sir," said the man, " I thought I 
would like to tell you that poor John, the 
stone-breaker, died last night." 

"What's that?" exclaimed the rich man, 
in the greatest possible surprise. " John 
the stone-breaker dead? Ah! I see it now, 
I see it now. What a fool I was, to think 
that my broad acres, my splendid house, 
and my gold and silver made me the rich- 
est man in the county. But it was not 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 169 

so. I was mistaken. Poor John, the stone- 
breaker, was the man. It was ' the blessing 
of the Lord' which he had, that made him 
the richest man in the county ! " 

God's promise to us, when we begin to 
serve Him, is — " From this day will I bless 
you." And the first thing that this blessing 
does for us is to make us rich. 

The second thing that this blessing does for 
us is, to make us — good. 

The best blessing we can ever have, 
is that which will make us really good. 
Nothing that the world can give, will be 
of much use to us, unless we can get our 
hearts changed, and made good. 

We have a good illustration of this in the 
case of Naaman, the Syrian, of whom we read 
in II Kings, fifth chapter. There we are told 
that — " Naaman, captain of the host of the 
king of Syria, was a great man with his mas- 
ter, and honorable, because by him the Lord 
had given deliverance to Syria; he was also 
a mighty man in valor, — but he was a leper." 
He had great riches; great honor; great sue- 



170 BIBLE PROMISES. 

cess as a soldier; he had all that the world 
could give him in the way of blessing, but, 
what good could it all do for him, while he 
was suffering from that terrible disease — the 
leprosy? Among the Jews, lepers were not 
allowed to keep company with other people. 
They were obliged to live by themselves, for 
fear they might give the disease to other 
people by touching them. Sometimes the 
leprosy would break out in terrible sores, 
in different parts of the body; and it would 
make the fingers and toes decay, and fall off, 
till the limbs of the poor sufferers would, as 
it were, be eaten away. How unhappy this 
dreadful disease must have made poor Naa- 
man feel, in spite of all his greatness ! How 
gladly he would have given up all his riches, 
and all his honors, if he could only have got- 
ten rid of his leprosy ! 

And just what that leprosy was to Naa- 
man, sin is to us. It is the disease of our 
souls. It pollutes them, as the leprosy pol 
luted the bodies of those who had it. It 
makes us unfit for heaven, and for the com 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 171 

pany of the holy angels. All the riches, 
and honors, and greatness, in the world, can 
never make us happy, unless we can get 
rid of our sins. But when we get that 
blessing of the Lord, spoken of in our text, 
this is just what it will do for us. It 
changes our hearts, and makes us good. 
St. Paul says: — "If any man be in Christ 
lie is a new creature." And when this 
change takes place, we are made like Jesus. 
This is to be made good indeed. It is the 
best kind of goodness. This blessing will 
not only make us good; but it will help us 
to grow better and better, the longer we 
live; and at last, it will make us — "perfect, 
even as our Father in heaven is perfect." 

How great that blessing is, which can se- 
cure a change like this, to poor sinful crea- 
tures such as we are ! And how well God 
may say to us, when we come to Jesus: — 
" From this day will I bless you." 

Here are some illustrations of persons who 
had received this blessing, and were made 
good by it. The first is about — 



172 BIBLE PROMISES. 

A GOOD LITTLE BOY. 

He was about ten years old. His naniv* 
was Willie Jones. He had given his heart 
to the Saviour, and was trying to be a Chris- 
tian. God had given him the blessing that 
makes His people good. 

" One cold slippery day in winter," says a 
Christian lady, " I was sitting at my win- 
dow, watching the people as they passed 
along the street. The walking was danger- 
ous, and I saw several people fall. There 
was a very slippery place not far from my 
window, and a lot of boys standing near 
it, laughing and talking and making snow- 
balls. Presently a little girl came along, 
carrying a basket on her arm, full of but- 
tons, tapes, papers of pins, shoestrings and 
the like. Just as she reached the danger- 
ous place, spoken of above, she slipped, and 
fell on the pavement. Her basket was up- 
set, and all the things in it rolled out on the 
ice and snow. I thought some of the boys, 
who were near, would go up and help the 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 173 

poor child. But they didn't. They only 
laughed at her, and went on with their 
play. But I had seen my neighbor, little 
Willie Jones, a short time before, looking 
out of the window of their house, right 
across the street. I knew Willie was a 
good boy, and I expected to see him come 
out, and help this poor child. And so he 
did. For as I looked up, I saw him, with- 
out overcoat or mittens, hurrying across 
the street. He first helped the little girl 
to her feet; then he carefully gathered up 
all the things that had rolled out of her 
basket, and put them safely back there. 
And not satisfied with that, but finding 
that she was stiff, and suffering from the 
cold, he asked her to come over to his mo- 
ther's house, to warm herself, and have some- 
thing to eat, before going on her way. The 
poor child was glad enough to go; and 
in the course of half an hour, or so, I 
saw her come out of Mrs. Jones's house, 
looking cheerful and happy." 

Now surely "the blessing of the Lord" 



174 BIBLE PROMISES. 

had made Willie Jones a good boy. He was 
trying faithfully to follow the example of 
that blessed Saviour, who, when He was on 
earth — "went about doing good." 

Our next illustration may be called — 

THE GOOD CHINAMAN. 

A missionary at Ningpo, one day, saw a 
respectable looking Chinaman in his mission 
room, whom he had never seen there before. 
After the service was over, he went up and 
shook hands with him. 

In the course of his conversation, the 
missionary said to him, 

" My friend, have you ever heard the 
gospel preached before ? " 

"No, sir," he replied; " but I have seen it 
preached." And then he went on to explain 
his meaning, in this way. " I know a man 
who nsed to be the terror of his neighbor- 
hood. If you spoke a cross word to him, he 
would shout at you, and keep on cursing yon 
without ceasing, for ever so long. He was 
a bad opium-smoker, and was as dangerous 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 175 

as a wild beast. But when the religion of 
Jesus took hold of him, he became- entirely 
changed. He has left off smoking opium. 
He is honest and true. You can depend on 
everything he says. He is kind and gentle; 
and from being the worst man in the neigh- 
borhood, he is now the best. You talk about 
hearing the gospel preached; but it is like 
seeing the gospel preached to watch the life 
of that man. And I believe in the religion 
which can make so good a man out of one 
who used to be so bad." 

I have one other illustration for this part 
of our sermon. We may call it — 

4N Indian's idea of goodness. 

There was a celebrated Indian chief, whose 
name was Tedyscung. He was king of the 
Delaware tribe of Indians. 

One evening he was sitting at the fireside 
of a friend. They did not seem disposed to 
talk much, but both were busy thinking. 
At length his friend spoke out and said: 
"Let me tell you what I have been thinking 



176 BIBLE PROMISES. 

about. The Lord Jesus Christ — the author 
of the Christian religion, left His followers a 
rule, which they call — The Golden Rule. I 
think it is the best rule I ever heard of." 

u Stop," said Tedyscung, " don't go on 
praising it, before I know what it is. Let 
me hear it, and think for myself. Don't tell 
me how good it is, but tell me what it is." 

" It is this," said his friend, u that one man 
should do to another, just what he would 
have the other do to him." 

" That's impossible. It cannot be done," 
said Tedyscung. Then they were both 
silent again. Presently Tedyscung lighted 
his pipe, and walked up and down the room, 
thinking earnestly of that golden rule, about 
which they had been talking. After awhile 
he came up to his friend, and sitting down 
by his side, he took his pipe out of his 
mouth, and said, as a smile played over his 
face — "Brother, I have been thinking of 
what you said about that golden rule. If 
the Great Spirit, that made man, should 
give him a new heart, then he could do as 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 177 

you say, but he never can do it without 
that" 

That Indian chief was right. But the 
blessing of the Lord, promised in our text, 
will do this very thing for us. It will change 
our hearts and make us good. And then 
it will be easy for us to keep the golden 
rule, or any other rule that God gives us. 

The second thing that this blessing does 
for us is to make us good. 

The third thing that this blessing does for us, 
is, to make us — great. 

There are two kinds of greatness; one is 
greatness in the sight of men ; the other is 
greatness in the sight of God. The first of 
these is not worth much. Men sometimes 
call persons great for doing things that are 
very wrong. There, for example, were 
Julius Csesar, and Alexander the Great, 
and Napoleon Bonaparte. They are counted 
among the great ones of the earth. And yet, 
the principal thing for which they were 
counted great, was — the number of people 
they killed. They were soldiers. They won 



178 BIBLE PROMISES. 

famous victories. But how did they win 
those victories? It was by wading through 
rivers of blood. I suppose that each of those 
great men caused the death of more than a 
million of people. Who would care to have 
greatness like theirs, that was all stained 
with blood? Those men did not pretend to 
be good: but they did think themselves 
great All the world calls them great; but 
nobody pretends to call them good. In the 
sight of men many persons are called great 
who are never considered good. Christopher 
Columbus was called a great man because he 
discovered America. He might have been a 
very good man. I do not say he was not. 
But a person may have that sort of greatness, 
without being good at all. Many men have 
been called great for the inventions they 
have made, or for certain things they have 
done, without any thought of what their own 
character was. But God's blessing always 
makes His people good, at the same time 
that it makes them great. This goodness 
and greatness always go together. 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 179 

God makes His people great by making 
them like Himself. And He is the highest 
model of greatness. 

And then another way in which God 
makes His people great is by bringing them 
very near to Himself. In countries like Eng- 
land, where they have a king or queen at 
the head of the government, those persons 
whose office or duty brings them nearest 
to the king, or queen, are considered the 
most honored, or the greatest. When the 
angel was sent to foretell the birth of John 
the Baptist, to his father Zacharias, he said 
to him, in giving an account of himself: — 
u I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence 
of God." This was the best proof of his 
greatness. And if we have the blessing of 
God, spoken of in our text, we shall share 
the same greatness. Jesus said of all His 
people, u They shall be equal to the angels." 
There is no greatness that men can give, 
w T hich can for a moment be compared with 
this. 

And then there is one other thing that 



180 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Jesus will do for His people, which shows 
how wonderful their greatness will be! He 
will share His throne, and His glory ivith 
them. 

This is what no earthly king ever did for 
one of his people. But Jesus will do it for 
all who love and serve Him. He says Him- 
self: "To him that overcometh" — this means 
to every faithful servant of His — " will I give , 
to sit down with me on my throne, even as 
I also overcame, and am set down with my 
Father on His throne." This is the highest 
point of greatness that any creature of God 
can ever reach. And when we think of this, 
we see how truly it may be said, of the 
blessing of the Lord, that it makes His peo- 
ple great. 

Let us look now at some illustrations of 
this greatness. The first we may call — 

THE CHRISTIAN'S GLORY. 

In a certain village in New England, there 
lived a good old Christian lady, whom every- 
body that knew her respected and loved. 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 181 

She was known, among her friends, as Aunt 
Judy. No matter what happened, she al- 
ways was bright, and cheerful; and had a 
pleasant word to say to every one. A friend 
of hers called to see her one day. She was 
a very changeable person. One day she 
would be cheerful; and the next day she 
would be dull and gloomy. At one time 
she would be kind and pleasant; at another 
she would be cross and disagreeable. As 
they were talking together, this neighbor 
said: — "Aunt Judy, don't you sometimes 
change ? " 

"Yes, I do," was her reply. 

" Well, I thought it must be so," said her 
friend. " I suppose everybody must change 
occasionally; sometimes they are up, and 
then again they are down. At one time 
they feel cheerful and happy; and at an- 
other, they feel sad and sorrowful." 

"Ah! but that is not the way I change, 
my friend," said Aunt Judy. "I only know 
of but one change, thank God ! and that 
is the change from glory to glory." 



182 BIBLE PROMISES. 

And if we are the true servants of God, 
this will be the only change we shall ever 
know, either in this world, or in the world 
to come. What an interesting view this 
gives us of heaven ! This was what Sol- 
omon meant, when he said: u The path of 
the just is as the shining light, shining more 
and more, unto the perfect day." Only think 
of the soul of the Christian, for thousands and 
thousands of years, going on, " from glory 
to glory," — and who can imagine what the 
greatness of that state will be ? 

Our next illustration may be called — 

WHAT A KING THOUGHT OF THIS GREATNESS. 

On one occasion the king of Prussia was 
visiting a certain village in that country. 
A committee of the school children had 
been appointed to meet the king, and bid 
him welcome to their village. Their teacher, 
who was with them, made a nice little speech 
to the king. Then the king thanked the chil- 
dren for their kind welcome, and spoke some 
pleasant words to them. He was standing 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 183 

by the table, on which were the refreshments 
provided for the occasion. 

Picking up an orange from a plate, he 
held it towards the children, and then asked: 

" To what kingdom does this belong, my 
dear children ? " 

u To the vegetable kingdom, please your 
majesty," said a bright little girl. 

Then the king took a gold coin from his 
pocket, and holding it up, asked: 

"And to what kingdom does this belong?" 

u To the mineral kingdom," said the little 
girl. And then, laying his hand on his 
breast, he asked: 

"And to what kingdom do I belong?" 

The little girl blushed, and was at a loss 
for an answer. She didn't like to say — to 
the animal kingdom ; for she was afraid the 
king w T ould be offended, if she called him 
an animal. Then the thought came into her 
mind that "God made man in His own im- 
age," and so, looking up with a sweet smile, 
she said: "You belong to God's kingdom, 
please your majesty." 



18 i BIBLE PROMISES. 

This touched the heart of the king. His 
eyes filled with tears; and for a moment 
or two he could not speak. And then, 
going up to the little girl, he laid his hand 
gently on her head, and said, with much 
feeling: — " God grant, my dear child, that 
you and I may both be counted worthy, 
through the merits of Christ, to share the 
greatness of that kingdom ! " 

I have only one other illustration. We 
may call it— 

WHAT A MINISTER THOUGHT OF THIS GREATNESS. 

Two hundred years ago there was a cele- 
brated minister, at Paris, in France. He 
was the most eloquent and popular preach- 
er ever known in that country. On the 
death of Louis XIV., king of France, Mas- 
sillon, this famous preacher, was called 
upon to preach the dead king's funeral 
sermon. The service was held in the old 
Cathedral of Notre Dame. The large build- 
ing was crowded with people. The new 
king, Louis XV., and all the nobility of 



THE PROMISED BLESSING. 185 

France were present. The great congrega- 
tion was seated, and waiting for the min- 
ister to appear. The silence of death was 
there. Massillon entered, and walked to 
the sacred desk, holding in his left hand 
a little golden urn, in which was a lock 
of hair belonging to the dead king. He 
stood by the desk in silence, holding lip 
the little urn. Moment after moment passed 
away, and he stood there pale and silent 
as a statue. The feeling became intense. 
Some thought he was afraid to speak be- 
fore that vast assembly; others sighed and 
groaned aloud. At last the hand of the 
preacher was seen slowly raising the gold- 
en urn, and with his eyes fixed on the 
new king, his clear, solemn voice was dis- 
tinctly heard in every part of that great 
Cathedral, uttering these startling words: — 
14 God alone is great" The greatness of the 
dead king had passed away, like a dream. 
Massillon wished to set in contrast to that, 
the greatness that will never pass away. 
And this was why he uttered those solemn 



186 BIBLE PROMISES. 

words: — "God alone is great." But if we 
secure the blessing spoken of in our text 
— then this greatness will be ours. 

Our sermon to day is about the blessing 
promised to those who serve God. And 
we have spoken of three things this bless- 
ing will do for us. It will make us rich; 
it will make us good; and it will make us 
great Let us all seek this blessing, and 
then it will be well with us, for time and 
for eternity. 



VII. 

HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 



VII. 
HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 

"And thou shalt be a blessing." — Genesis xii. 2. 

This was God's promise to Abraham when 
He first called him to be His servant, and 
made a covenant with him. But the prom- 
ise here given was not intended for Abra- 
ham alone. It is meant to apply to all, 
who, like Abraham, become the true ser- 
vants of God. If you and I are really 
loving and serving God, then, to each of 
us God says — " Thou shalt be a blessing." 
Just look at some of the ways in which 
God speaks of His people in the Bible, 
and that will show us what real blessings 
they are. What a blessing light is ! But 
Jesus calls His people — "the light of the 
world" (Matt. v. 14). What a blessing salt 
is! But Jesus calls His people "the salt of 

(189) 



190 BIBLE PROMISES, 

the earth " (Matt. v. 13). Lambs, and doves, 
and wheat, and palm trees, and cedar trees 
have been blessings to men, but these are 
things to which God compares His people. 
Gold and jewels, when rightly used, are 
blessings, and God compares His people 
to these things. What blessings good 
kings and good priests and ministers have 
been to the world! But God tells us that 
all His people will be kings and priests 
unto Him (Eev. i. 6). 

Our sermon to day is about — how Chris- 
tians are a blessing. 

We might speak of a great many ways 
in which they are so. But we have only 
time to speak of three ways, in which every 
true Christian will prove a blessing, where- 
ever he may be. 

The first way in which God makes His 
people a blessing is by their — example. 

It is very true, as the old proverb says, 
that — "actions speak louder than words." 
If we wish to find out the best way of 
speaking, we must learn to speak by our 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 191 

example. Let us look at some illustrations 
of the different ways in which persons 
have been a blessing to others by their 
examples. 

Our first illustration is about how — 

A LITTLE BOY'S EXAMPLE WAS A BLESSING 
TO HIS FAMILY. 

Little Henry was but seven years old. 
His father was not a Christian. They 
never had family prayers in their home; 
nor a blessing asked at their meals. On 
one occasion a Christian gentleman, who 
was a friend of Henry's father, was on a 
visit to their home for several days. Dur- 
ing that visit he was invited to conduct 
family prayers, and to ask , a blessing at 
their meals. It was the first time Henry 
had ever known this done. He liked it 
very much, and wished that his father 
would do so too. 

The first evening after this gentleman 
had left, Henry and his little sister Fannie, 
and their aged grandmother, sat down to 



192 BIBLE PROMISES. 

the supper table by themselves, as their 
father and mother had an engagement out 
to tea. As they took their seats at the 
table, Henry said — " Grandma, may I ask 
a blessing? " 

"Yes," she replied; and her eyes filled 
with tears, for she had long been a true 
Christian. 

Henry bowed his head and clasped his 
little hands together, as he said — 

" God bless our bread and milk; and 
make us good children. Bless father, and 
mother, and grandma, for Jesus' sake. 
Amen." 

Henry went to bed after supper, and 
thought no more of what he had done. But 
when his parents came home, late in the 
evening, the dear old grandma told his fa- 
ther all about it. It touched his fathers 
heart, and filled his eyes with tears. He 
resolved to take his stand at once, and do 
his duty to his family. He began, the next 
day, to have prayers, and ask a blessing at 
their meals. He soon became an earnest 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 193 

Christian, and joined the church. Now sure- 
ly that little boy was a blessing to his father, 
and his family — by his example. 

Oar next illustration shows us how — 

A LITTLE BOY S EXAMPLE WAS A BLESSING TO HIS 
PLAYMATE. 

Two boys were playing with their tops 
one day. Their names were Johnny and 
Willie. After they had been playing awhile, 
Johnny got angry, because he could not make 
his top spin as nicely as Willie's top did, 
and he began to swear about it. 

Willie was very sorry to hear this, and 
said at once — " Johnny, if you are going to 
swear in that way, I can't play with you." 
. Johnny replied very sharply — " I don't 
care. You can do as you please; but I'll 
swear as much as I've a mind to." 
1 " Well," said Willie, " if you're going to 
keep on swearing, you'll have to do it with- 
out me. Good-bye," and picking up his top 
he started for home. 

When Johnny saw how earnest and de- 



194 BIBLE PROMISES. 

cided Willie was about it, he felt ashamed 
of himself; and calling after his playmate 
he said — " Willie, if you'll come back and 
play, I won't swear any more." 

Willie w r ent back and said to his playmate 
— " Johnny, my Sunday School teacher says 
that swearing is very wicked; and IVe made 
up my mind not to play with any boy who 
will break the third commandment, and take 
God's name in vain." 

They talked it over awhile, and then 
Johnny said — " Well, Willie, I never thought 
before how wrong it is to swear; but now 
1 am resolved not to swear any more." 

Now Willie was a real hero, to take his 
stand about this matter so manfully as he 
did. And we see what a blessing his exam- 
ple was to his friend Johnny. 

Our next illustration shows what a bless- 
ing came from — 

THE EXAMPLE OF A PIOUS CLERK. 

This story was told by the late Rev. J. 
Angel James, who was one of the most 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 195 

useful and successful ministers of the gos- 
pel in England, during the present century. 
"I left home when a young man," said 
Mr. James, "and began my business life 
as a clerk, in one of the largest business 
firms in the city of Manchester. I had 
been religiously educated, but had given 
up prayer, and cast off the fear of God. 
I might have gone to utter ruin, if it had 
not pleased God to make use of the example 
of a fellow clerk, to save me from destruction. 
A new clerk had just been taken into the 
establishment. I knew nothing about him 
before he came, but was pleased with what 
I had seen of him, the first day that he was 
in the office. I was requested to let him 
share my room with me. The first' night 
that he was there, I had gone to bed earlier 
than usual; but I was not asleep when the 
new clerk came in. The lamp was burning 
on the table, and before beginning to un- 
dress, I noticed that he took out a Bible 
from his trunk, and sat down to read a 
chapter. Then he quietly, and devoutly 



196 BIBLE PROMISES. 

kneeled down by the side of his bed, and 
engaged in silent, earnest prayer. As I 
lay there and watched him doing this, so 
quietly, so reverently, my slumbering con- 
science was roused, and an arrow of deep con- 
viction pierced my heart. I was led to the 
exercise of true repentance towards God, 
and of a living faith in my long neglected 
Saviour." 

" Soon after this," says Mr. James, " I gave 
up business, and began my studies for the 
ministry. Nearly fifty years have passed 
away, with all their changes, since this took 
place; but still, that little chamber — that hum- 
ble couch — that pious youth bowing down 
before God in prayer, are as fresh in my 
memory as though it had occurred but yes- 
terday; and it will never be forgotten, even 
amidst the glories of the heavenly world, 
or through all the ages of eternity." 

And if we could only follow that earnest 
man of God, and see the great good done 
by his labors, through all the years of his 
ministry: — what an impressive idea it would 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 197 

give us of the blessing that followed from 
the silent example of that young man ! 

I have one other illustration. It shows 
us the blessing that followed from — 

AN AGED CHRISTIANS EXAMPLE. 

There was a young lady who had great 
riches, and great beauty; but still was un- 
happy, because she was a stranger to the 
peace and hope which Jesus gives to His 
people. She was not in the habit of visiting 
the poor; but one day she went with a friend 
to see a poor old woman, who had been con- 
fined to bed for thirty years, who was a very 
great sufferer, and was near the end of her 
life. The young lady stood by pitying her; 
and was surprised to hear not a word of re- 
pining, or complaint. The aged Christian 
only spoke of her happiness and peace, of 
the many mercies she had experienced, and 
of the joy and glory that were soon to be 
hers. How great the contrast was between 
those two persons ! The one had youth 
health, and prosperity, and yet was feeling 



IDS BIBLE PROMISES. 

wretched; the other was burdened with age, 
poverty, and suffering, and yet was perfectly 
happy. The young lady turned to her friend, 
and said in a low voice, "How gladly I 
would change places with this poor creature, 
if I could only have the peace and happiness 
which she is sharing." 

The aged Christian passed away to her 
home of glorious rest. But her example led 
that young lady to seek Jesus, and she 
found in Him, the peace and happiness, which 
her youth and wealth could never give. 
Here we see what a blessing that old Chris- 
tian was, to that young lady, by her example. 

The first way in which God makes His peo- 
ple a blessing is by their example. 

The second way in which God makes Ills 
people a blessing, is by their — prayers. 

Prayer is the most powerful means of 
doing good, that God has ever put into our 
hands to use. It has been well said that — 
"Prayer moves the arm that moves the 
world." The promise of Jesus to His disci- 
ples was — " All things whatsoever ye shall ask 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 199 

in prayer, believing, ye shall receive " (Matt, 
xxi. 22). And the apostle James tells us that 
— " The effectual, fervent prayer of the right- 
eous man availeth much" (James v. 16). 
Prayer draws down gifts from heaven. It 
fills the empty soul. It brings strength to 
the weak, true riches to the poor, and com- 
fort to the sorrowing. It is a bank of 
wealth; a mine of mercies; a store-house 
of blessings. It flies where the eagle never 
flew. It travels further, and moves faster 
than the light. Mary, Queen of Scotland, 
understood the power of prayer when she 
used to say: — "I am more afraid of John 
Knox's prayers, than of an army of ten thou- 
sand men." It is very true, as the hymn says, 
that— 

"Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw; 
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw; 
Gives exercise to faith and love; 
Brings every blessing from above.' 9 

The Bible is full of illustrations of the good 
that has been done, or the blessings that 



200 BIBLE PROMISES. 

have been secured, by prayer. Let us look 
at just two of these. 

See, there are the children of Israel going 
out of Egypt. They have not gone far, be- 
fore Pharaoh, king of Egypt, goes after 
them, with an army, to bring them back. 
Look at their situation when Pharaoh over- 
takes them. They are going along a road 
on the shore of the Bed Sea. A range of 
high mountains rises up on their right hand, 
while on their left hand, the sea spreads out 
its broad waters. What are they to do? 
It seems impossible for them to escape. But 
Moses, their great leader, had faith in the 
power of prayer. All that he could do was 
to pray to God for help. Fie did pray. And 
God heard his prayer, and sent the needed 
help. God opened a way for them through 
the depths of the sea. He stretched out His 
Almighty arm, and piled up the water like 
walls of glass, on each side of them. They 
marched in safety, by the way thus opened 
for them, through the depths of the sea. 
The Egyptians attempted to follow them, by 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 201 

the same path. But, just as they reached 
the middle of the sea, the piled-up waters 
rushed down upon them, and they were 
drowned. What a blessing that was to the 
Israelites ! It delivered them from their en- 
emies, and saved them from being led back 
as captives to Egypt. But this blessing 
came to them, in answer to the prayer of 
Moses. 

And here is another illustration of the 
power of prayer, in the history of the Is- 
raelites. It occurs at the time when Elijah 
the Tishbite is God's prophet to the people. 
A long drought has been sent upon them, 
as a punishment for their sins. For three 
years and six months there has not been a 
drop of rain in the land. The springs have 
failed. The streams have dried up. The 
fields are parched. The crops have perished. 
The trees are withering. The horses and 
cattle are dying, and desolation and death 
are threatening ruin to the nation. What 
can the prophet do ? He engages in prayer, 
that God would send rain upon the earth. 



202 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Long, and earnestly he continues his pe- 
titions. While he is thus engaged, a little 
cloud, about as big as a man's hand, is seen, 
rising out of the sea. It grows larger and 
larger. Presently the heavens are black 
with clouds; and the rain pours down in 
torrents, refreshing the parched earth; fill- 
ing the exhausted springs and streams; and 
restoring the long lost beauty and fertility, 
of the fields, and the forests. What a bless- 
ing that rain was to the nation of Israel ! 
And it was the prayer of the prophet 
Elijah, which brought down that great bless- 
ing upon them. 

And now, let us look at some illustrations, 
outside of the Bible, of the power which 
prayer exerts in bringing down blessings. 

Our first illustration may be called — 

THE LOST SHEEP FOUND BY PRAYER. 

Many years ago, a little boy named Jacob, 
was bound out at an early age, to a Scotch 
farmer, that he might learn farming as his 
life work. His father was a good Christian 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 203 

man. He had instructed him in religion ; 
and especially had taught him to pray, when 
he was in any trouble, and to ask help from 
God. 

One afternoon Jakie was sent over the 
hills, to fetch the sheep home before dark. 
He had often been sent on this errand before, 
and had never met with any difficulty in find- 
ing them, But on this occasion, when he got 
to the usual place for them, they were not 
to be seen. He searched all around, but in 
vain. The sheep were lost. What should 
he do? He remembered what his father 
had taught him about prayer; and felt that 
now was the time for him to seek in this 
way, the help that he needed, and knew 
not how else to get. So he kneeled down, 
closed his eyes, folded his hands, and said: 
" Xow, Lord, I am a poor little boy. They 
have sent me here to fetch the sheep home; 
but I cannot find them. They are lost. Lord, 
thou knowest where they are. Please help 
me to find the sheep, for Jesus' sake. 
Amen." He remained on his knees, for 



204 BIBLE PROMISES. 

some time, after finishing his prayer, with 
his eyes shut, feeling very happy to think 
that he had a friend always near to help 
him. While waiting thus, he heard the dis- 
tant bleating of a sheep. Rising to his 
feet, he started in the direction from which 
the sound came, and soon found the sheep, 
all together in a little out of the way val- 
ley, which he had never seen before. Then 
he drove the sheep home, thinking to him- 
self as he went along — what a blessing 
prayer is ! 

Here is another illustration. We may call 
it— 

A LIAR CURED BY PRAYER. 

A poor widow woman in England, who 
supported herself by sewing, had a little 
boy named Charley. He was disobedient 
and careless; would use bad words, and tell 
stories. He gave his mother a great deal 
of trouble. She tried all she could to make 
him better; but it was no use. He went on 
getting worse and worse. Finally she con- 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 205 

eluded to send him to the parish school, 
connected with the church to which she 
belonged. 

He behaved very badly in this school; 
and had not been there long before he was 
found guilty of saying something that was 
very untrue. 

The clergyman of the parish was greatly 
troubled about him. He came into the 
school to see what was to be done in the 
case. He called Charley out, and placed 
him in a chair in the middle of the school. 
Then he spoke to the scholars about the evil 
of lying; and asked them what they thought 
should be done to Charley, to break him of 
this bad habit, and make a good boy of him. 

" 0, sir ! " said one little boy, u suppose we 
put him in the corner." 

Another boy said — " 0, sir, suppose we 
give him a good whipping." 

A third little boy said — " Suppose, sir, we 
pray for him." 

u Ah! my little boy,'' said the minister, 
"you are right. He has been whipped, and 



206 BIBLE PROMISES. 

put in the corner; but he is none the bet- 
ter. But we have not prayed for him yet 
Let us do this now." 

Then they all knelt down, and the minister 
offered up an earnest prayer. He asked God 
to pardon Charley's sin; to show him the 
great evil of lying, and to give him grace 
to break off from this bad habit, and to 
resolve always to speak the truth. 

Charley was very much affected by that 
prayer. When they rose from their knees, 
his cheeks were wet with tears. A change 
took place in him from that day. He soon 
became one of the best boys in the school, 
and was never known, after that, to tell a lie.. 
What a blessing followed from that prayer! 

I have one more story, under this part of 
our sermon. It shows us how — 

A DRUNKARD WAS SAVED BY THE PRAYER 
OF HIS CHILD. 

An intemperate man, who had once been 
well off, but had wasted his property by 
drink, returned to his home one night, 



HO IV CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 207 

earlier that usual, and not so much under 
the influence of liquor. He took a chair, 
in a distant corner of the room, in which 
his wife and daughter were sitting. The 
little one w r as only four years old. There 
was no carpet on the floor of that room, 
and most of its furniture had been pawned 
for food. His conscience was troubling him, 
and he w r as very unhappy as he sat there. 
"Come, my darling," said the mother to her 
child, u it's time to go to bed." Then the 
little one knelt down by her mother's side, 
to say her prayers, And as she looked up 
into that loving face, and saw the deep 
marks of sorrow on it, her young heart was 
melted. She finished her prayers' as usual; 
and then, without rising from her knees, she 
said: "Mamma, dear, may I say one more 
prayer ? " 

"Yes, my darling, pray on.'* Then, with 
her eyes closed, she lifted up her tiny hands 
and said — "Oh! God! spare, oh! spare my 
dear papa, and make him a good Christian, 
for Jesus' sake. Amer " 



208 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Her Father in heaven heard that prayer, 
and so did her father on earth. The word 
"Amen!" burst from that fathers lips. And 
then, with the tears of penitence streaming 
down his cheeks, he clasped the mother and 
her little one to his bosom. " My child ! " 
said he, "you have saved your father from 
a drunkard's grave. I'll sign the pledge 
to-night." 

He did so; and drank no more after that. 
What a blessing followed from that dear 
child's prayer ! 

The second way in which God makes His 
people a blessing is by their prayers. 

The third tvay in which God makes His 
people a blessing, is by their — work. 

This means by what they do to show their 
love to Him. When Jesus was on earth we 
are told that — " He went about doing good. 19 
He was the greatest blessing our world ever 
saw. And all His people are expected to 
follow His example; and, as one of our 
beautiful Collects says — " to tread m the 
blessed steps of His most holy life." True, 



HO IV CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 209 

Jesus had the power of working miracles. 
He could open the eyes of the blind; and un- 
stop the ears of the deaf; and heal the sick, 
and give relief to all sorts of sufferers. We 
cannot do the miracles which Jesus did. 
But still we can follow His example, and 
"go about doing good/' as He did, in other 
ways. We can give food to the hungry, 
and clothes to the naked, and show kindness 
and sympathy to those who are in trouble. 
And in this way, every follower of Jesus 
may be a blessing wherever he goes. 

There is no more beautiful illustration, of 
the way in which any Christian may be a 
blessing, than is found In the book of Job. 
This is the oldest book in the Bible. Job is 
supposed to have lived in the time of Abra- 
ham. x\nd in the twenty-ninth chapter of this 
book, we have an interesting account given, 
of the way in which Job made himself a 
blessing to those about him. 

He says — " When the ear heard me, then 
it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it 
gave witness to me; Because I delivered the 



210 BIBLE PROMISES. 

poor that cried, tlie fatherless, and him that 
had none to help him. The blessing of him 
that was ready to perish came upon me; and 
I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to 
the lame. I was a father to the poor; and 
the cause which I knew not, I searched out." 
Here we see how Job made himself a 
blessing; and if we follow his example, we 
shall be blessings too. Let us look at some 
illustrations of the different ways in which 
Christians may be blessings. The first may 
be called — 

MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY. 

The Eev. Sydney Smith, a well known 
clergyman in England, cut a little article 
from the paper one day, about making peo- 
ple happy, and made up his mind to try and 
practice it. This was it — "When you rise 
in the morning, say to yourself, ' I will try 
to do good to somebody to-day. If I meet 
with a hungry man, I will get him some- 
thing to eat. If I meet one suffering from 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 211 

the cold, I will get him some extra clothing. 
If I meet with some one in trouble, by a 
kind look, or a kind word, I will try to com- 
fort him.'" 

How easy it would be to do this ! If we 
do this every day; then, at the end of the 
year, it will be a comfort to think, that 
while that year was going by, we have been 
a comfort and blessing to three hundred 
and sixty-five persons. And if we keep on 
doing this for forty years, then, it will have 
been our privilege to have been a blessing to 
fourteen thousand six hundred people. 

Our next story shows us — 

HOW A LITTLE GIRL WAS A BLESSING. 

A gentleman in England, was walking up 
and down the room, at a railway station, 
waiting for a train. He held by the hand 
his little daughter, a lovely child about five 
or six years old. As they were waiting 
there, two policemen came in, bringing with 
them a prisoner in chains. He was a very 
wicked man. For something very wrong, 



212 BIBLE PROMISES. 

which he had lately done, he had just been 
sentenced to the penitentiary for twenty 
years. The policemen were taking him to 
the prison. They gave him a seat in a cor- 
ner of the room. He was a savage, sullen 
looking man. As the gentleman walked up 
and down the room, his little girl could not 
keep her eyes off the poor prisoner. At first 
she was afraid of him ; but after awhile this 
feeling changed to pity. And once, when 
they reached that part of the room where he 
was, she let go her father's hand, and coming 
up to the prisoner, in a gentle voice, and 
with her eyes full of tears, she said — " Man, 
I am sorry for you." But he frowned at her 
fiercely, and she ran back to her father's side. 

They continued their walk, and after 
awhile, when they came near him again, she 
loosed her father's hand, and going towards 
him, she said in the same tender, pitying 
tones — " Man, the Lord Jesus is sorry for you 
too." 

Then the train came, and they all went off. 
When the policemen reached the end of their 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 213 

journey, they delivered their prisoner to the 
keeper of the prison. After doing this, they 
told him they were sorry for what they had 
to say about this prisoner. " He is ill-tem- 
pered, and disobedient, and very hard to 
manage; and we are afraid he will occasion 
you great trouble." This made the keeper 
of the prison feel very uncomfortable. For 
lie had so many troublesome cases already on 
hand, that he did not want to have another. 
But to his surprise, he found no trouble 
with this man. He did whatever he was 
told to do, and was always respectful and 
pleasant in his manner. He could not tell 
what to make of it. So after awhile he 
spoke to him on the subject, and asked how 
it was that he was so different from what 
had been reported. 

"Why, sir," said the prisoner, " that report 
was true. I used to be as bad as possible. 
But now I am a changed man." Then he 
went on to tell about what that dear child 
had said to him, while waiting in the rail- 
way station. " Her sweet words melted my 



214 BIBLE PROMISES. 

hard heart," said he. "They reminded me 
of my sainted mother now in heaven. They 
led me to see what a sinner I was. I turned 
in penitence to Jesus. He heard my prayers. 
He gave me His pardon and peace. Now I 
am a new man; and am ready to meet my 
dear mother in heaven, whenever God's time 
for the change shall come." 

What a blessing that dear child was to 
that poor prisoner ! 

HOW A NEW YORK GENTLEMAN WAS A BLESSING. 

This gentleman was an earnest Christian. 
He often spent a part of Sunday afternoon, 
in trying to do good among the people he 
would find idling away their time on the 
wharves. One Sunday he met a man there, 
who was known to be a great rogue. He 
had been in the penitentiary for stealing. 

The gentleman went up to him, and lay- 
ing his hand kindly on his shoulder, said — 
u My friend, do you love the Lord Jesus 
Christ ? " 

The man turned rudely round, and said — 



HOW CHRISTIANS ARE A BLESSING. 215 

" You're a pretty fellow to talk to me in this 
way. It's the way you Christians do. I'd 
like to see you put your religion in practice." 

It was a cold day, and the man was thinly 
dressed and shivering. The gentleman had 
two coats on. 

" Show me your religion," said the man, 
11 by giving me one of your coats." 

In a moment the gentleman took off one 
of his coats, and threw it round the man's 
shoulders. He was astonished, and taking 
off the coat said — 

"I was only joking. I wanted to see how 
far your religion would carry you. I believe 
you are a real Christian. What do you want 
me to do ? " 

"Ah! my friend," said the gentleman, "I 
want you to come to Jesus; and to go with 
me to our meeting this afternoon. Will 
you?" 

" Yes, I will," said the man. The gentle- 
man took him to church with him. He en- 
gaged him to come again, and the end of 
it was, that man became an earnest Christian, 



216 BIBLE PROMISES. 

and was very useful in laboring among the 
sailors. 

Surely that Christian gentleman was a 
blessing by the work he did that day. 

Now where is our text to-day? Gen. xii. 2. 
What are the words of the text? "Thou 
shalt be a blessing." What is the sermon 
about? How Christians are a blessing. We 
have spoken of how many ways in which 
they are so ? Three. In the first place God 
makes His people a blessing, by what? By 
their example. In the second by what? By 
their prayers. And in the third by what ? 
By their tuorlc. 

Let us all try to love, and serve the Lord 
Jesus, and then He will help us to be bless- 
ings, in these, and other ways wherever 
we go. 






VIII. 
THE PROMISED REFUGE. 



VIII. 
THE PEOMISED EEFUGE. 

" The eternal God is thy refuge," — Deut. xxxiii. 27. 

Here we have another of the precious prom- 
ises of God's holy word. When we are young 
and anything troubles us, we always run to 
our dear mother, and find refuge in her lov- 
ing arms. But when our mother dies; or 
when we grow up, and go away from home, 
we are not able to use that refuge any longer. 
And yet, we always need a refuge, wherever 
we may go. There are trials and troubles 
that must meet us, on the right hand and 
the left ; and when these troubles come upon 
as, they will make us very unhappy, unless 
we have a refuge to which we can go, with 
the burden of our trials, and in which we can 
find the help and comfort that we need. 
And it was just because God knew about the 

(219) 



220 BIBLE PROMISES. 

trials that await us, and how much we should 
need a refuge in meeting them, that He has 
given us the blessed promise that we have 
in our text. Here He teaches us to think 
of Himself — " the eternal God " — as our 
refuge. 

Our sermon to-day is about — the promised 
refuge. 

And in speaking about it, the question we 
have to try and answer is — what sort of a 
refuge is this ? There are four things about 
this refuge to speak of. These will show 
us that it is just the kind of refuge that 
we need; and the" very best that can be 
found. 

The first thing to speak of about this refuge, 
is that it is — near. 

Our earthly refuges are always confined 
to one particular place. Sometimes the 
refuge that we need is very far off', and 
when danger threatens us, or trouble over- 
takes us, we cannot reach the refuge in 
time; and then, it is of no use to us. 

Among the Jews, if one person killed an- 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 221 

other by accident, without intending to do 
it, the father, or son, or brother, or nearest 
relative of the dead man, was called "the 
avenger of blood." The law of custom was, 
that this person should go after the one who 
had caused the death of his relative, and 
kill him at once, without waiting for a trial 
by judge and jury, as is the custom with us. 
But, for the protection of those who had by 
accident caused the death of others, God 
appointed what were called — "cities of ref- 
uge" — in different parts of the land. To 
any one of those cities, the man-slayer, who 
had killed a person, without intending it, 
might flee for refuge, and if he could get 
there, before the avenger of blood overtook 
him, he would be safe. But those cities of 
refuge were not always near. Sometimes the 
nearest of them would be so far off, that 
a man would have to run for half a day, 
before he could reach it. And while he 
was trying to get there, he might be over- 
taken, and killed. 

But how different it is with the refuge we 



BIBLE PROMISES. 



are considering! God, forms this refuge. 
And He is always present, everywhere. As 
the Bible says — "He is a God at hand, and 
not afar off." We can get away from our 
homes, and from our friends, but we never 
can get away from God. How beautifully 
David brings out this idea in the 139th 
Psalm, (7-10), when he says: — " Whither shall 
1 go from thy spirit? or whither shall I 
flee from thy presence? If I ascend up 
into heaven thou art there; if I make my 
bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I 
take the wings of the morning, and dwell 
in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there 
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand 
shall hold me." 

This is a blessed refuge because it is al- 
ways near. We never have to go far to 
find it. Here are some illustrations of this 
part of our subject. 

A teacher once asked this question, of his 
scholars: — "Boys, where is God?" One boy 
answered: — u God is in heaven." Another 
said: — "God is everywhere;" and another 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 223 

said: " God is here." And this is true, not 
in one place only, but in every place. He 
is always near to everybody. 

HOW A LITTLE BOY FELT GOD NEAR. 

This little fellow had been lost in one of 
the dense forests of the West. He had to 
stay all night in the woods. The next day 
he was found and taken home. His mother, 
in talking to him about it, asked him " if he 
was not afraid ? and what he did when night 
came on? " 

"No, mamma," said the little fellow — U I 
was not afraid; because I knew that God 
was there. So when it got dark I kneeled 
down and said: 4 God! I have lost my 
way, and cannot get home, but have to stay 
here all night in the woods. God, please 
take care of little Johnny; and don't let 
anything hurt me; for Jesus' sake. Amen.' 
Then I lay down and went to sleep." 

This was a beautiful illustration of David's 
words when he says; — "The angel of the Lord 
encampeth round them that fear Him, and 



224 BIBLE PROMISES. 

delivereth them " (Ps. xxxiv. 7). That little 
boy was feeling that God was a near refuge. 
He turned to that refuge, in the loneli- 
ness of the woods, and amidst the darkness 
of the night; and he found there, just the 
protection, and the safety that he needed. 

I have only one other illustration for this 
part of our subject. We may call it — 

HELP BY A RAVEN. 

A good many years ago, in a village near 
Warsaw, in Poland, there lived a pious peasant 
by the name of Dobry. He was an honest, 
industrious man, but very poor. He had 
been sick, and not able to work for some 
weeks. In consequence of this he got be- 
hind hand with his rent, and was unable 
to pay it. His landlord was a very hard 
man. He had called several times for the 
money, but could not get it. This made 
him angry, and he told Dobry that unless 
the rent was paid before the close of that 
day, he would send a constable the next 
morning, and have him turned out of doors. 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 225 

This distressed the poor man very much. 
For it was just in the midst of winter. The 
weather was very severe. They had several 
small children; and the idea of being all 
turned out into the cold, when they had no 
place to go to for shelter, was dreadful. But 
Dobry was a Christian man. He knew that 
"the eternal God was the refuge" of His 
people. He knew what a near refuge this 
is. He had often turned to this refuge be- 
fore, when he was in trouble, and had al- 
ways found relief there. He resolved to do 
so again, in his present trouble. So, at the 
close of the day, he gathered his family to- 
gether for their evening prayer. Before en- 
gaging in prayer he read the 50th Psalm, in 
which this precious promise is found: — " Call 
on me in the day of trouble, and I will de- 
liver thee." 

• Then they kneeled in prayer. Dobry told 
the Lord of their present trouble, and asked 
Him to please not let them be turned out 
of their home, in the midst of winter. When 
the prayer was over, they sat down again, 



226 BIBLE PROMISES. 

and sang one of their favorite hymns. The 
hymn they sang that evening was one of 
which this is the first verse — 

"Commit thou all thy griefs 
And ways into His hands, 
To His sure trust and tender care, 
Who heaven and earth commands." 

The last verse of this hymn reads thus — 

"Thou on the Lord rely, 
So safe shalt thou go on; 
Fix on His word thy steadfast eye, 
So shall thy work be done." 

While they were singing this verse, there 
was a pecking at the door. Dobry opened 
the door and a raven came in. This was 
an old friend of theirs. Dobry's father had 
taken it out of the nest, when it was quite 
young. He had nursed it very kindly, and 
tamed it, and then let it go. But the bird 
never seemed to forget the kindness that 
had been showed to him, and he often came 
into their house, as though it was his home. 
As he hopped into the house, on this occa- 




B. Promises 



p. 226. 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 227 

sion, Dobry saw that the raven had some- 
thing in his bill. He reached out his hand 
to receive it, and the bird laid down on the 
palm of his hand a gold ring, set with pre- 
cious jewels. 

Dobry felt very thankful when he saw 
this. He knew that his Father in heaven 
had sent it. He took it immediately to his 
minister to show it to him, and ask him 
Adiat he should do with it. On looking at 
it he saw that it belonged to Stanislaus, the 
king of Poland. Then he took it to him, 
and told him the story connected with it. 
The king was greatly interested in the story. 
He sent for Dobry, and rewarded him liber- 
ally, so that he was no longer in need. Then 
he built him a new house, and gave him 
a nice little farm, which he supplied with 
cattle from his own herd. Over the door of 
the house, a stone tablet was put in; and 
on the tablet was engraved a raven with a 
ring in his beak; and under it, the prom- 
ise which had been so wonderfully fulfilled 
on that occasion: — "Call on me in the day 



228 BIBLE PROMISES. 

of trouble, and I will deliver thee " (Ps. 
1. 15). 

Now surely that poor man found " the 
eternal God," a refuge near to him, in 
trouble. The first thing to speak of about 
this refuge, is that it is a near refuge. 

The second thing about it, to speak of, is that 
it is — a large — -refuge. 

Some refuges are small in their size. They 
can only hold a certain number of persons. 
They often get filled up, and no matter how 
many people may apply for entrance, they 
cannot get in. Some refuges are only open 
on certain days, or at certain hours of the 
day. If persons apply for entrance on other 
days, or at other hours of the day, they find 
the doors closed, and they cannot get in. 

But this is never the case with the refuge 
we are considering. This is so large that, 
no matter how many people press into it, 
there is always room for as many more. 
The gracious invitation which Jesus, who 
forms this refuge, gives, is — " Come unto 
me, all ye who labor, and are heavy laden, 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 229 

and I will give you rest," And then, in an- 
other place, the invitation that comes to us 
from this glorious refuge is in this form: — 
"The Spirit, and the bride say come; let him 
that heareth say come; let him that is 
athirst, come; and ivhosoever will, let him 
come, and take of the water of life freely." 
And this invitation is not only to all 
persons, but at all times. The gates of this 
refuge are never closed. By day or by night, 
in summer and in winter, any persons, who 
desire to do so, may come and enter. Then 
how large this refuge must be ! Yes, it is 
large. Our text tells us that it is — u The eter- 
nal God" who forms this refuge. But God is 
called infinite, as well as eternal. This word 
infinite is a big word. If you look into your 
dictionary to find out its meaning, you will 
see that it means something which has no 
limits, or bounds. We know many large 
things. But they are not infinite. They 
have their limits, or their bounds. The 
ocean is large, but it is not infinite. It has 
a bottom, and it has shores; and these form 



230 BIBLE PROMISES. 

the limits, or bounds of the ocean. Our 
world is large; yet it is not infinite. It has 
a north, and a south, and an east, and a 
west; and these form the limits, or bounds 
of the world. But God is an infinite God, 
because there are no limits, and no bounds to 
Him. He is present all the lime, everywhere. 
And the refuge which He forms must be 
just as large as He is Himself. It is a ref- 
uge always near, because God, who forms 
it, is in every place, at all times; and it is 
a refuge which has no limits, or bounds, and 
therefore must be so large, that it never can 
be filled. No matter how many flee unto 
this refuge, it is never full. 

Let us look at some illustrations of this 
part of our subject. Our first story is about 
the w or 'd— Whosoever. 

James Simpson was an English weaver, a 
man in very humble circumstances. He had 
become very much interested in the subject 
of religion, and was anxious to find the Sa- 
viour. But he had never had any instruction 
on this important matter, and was all in the 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 231 

dark about it. He was thinking of it all the 
time; and the great question that was al- 
ways before him, was — "What must I do to 
be saved?" 

One evening, after the day's work was over, 
he was sitting by the window in their lit- 
tle cottage, with the New Testament before 
him, trying to read it. He knew very little 
about reading, and had to spell out each 
word as he came to it. He was trying to 
read the seventeenth verse of the twenty- 
second chapter of Revelations, and was spell- 
ing his way along, when he came to a word 
with which he began thus: — u w-h-o, who — 
s-o, whoso — e-v-e-r, whosoever ; ay, but that's 
a big word," said he. " I wonder what it 
means?" Then he spelled out the rest of 
the verse and read it: — u Whosoever will, 
let him come and take of the water of life 
freely." 

14 1 remember," he thought to himself, " the 
minister said that ' the water of life ' here 
means salvation. But what does this big- 
word 'whosoever' mean? If I could only 



232 BIBLE PROMISES. 

find this out," he said to himself, "how glad 
I should be ! " After thinking over it awhile, 
he rose, and put his hat on, and with his 
Testament under his arm, he went out to 
take a walk. 

There was a large boarding-school for boys, 
in that neighborhood, and the thought oc- 
curred to him, that one of the scholars from 
this school, could tell him the meaning of 
this big word, which he could not under- 
stand. So he walked towards the school, 
and just as he reached the gate, a bright, 
good-natured looking boy, about fifteen years 
of age, came out to catch the ball, with 
which he and his companions were playing. 

James went up to him, and said: — " I say, 
young master, may I speak a word with 
you?" 

u You can speak two or three, if yon 
please, sir," said the boy very pleasantly, 
"only be quick about it, as my companions 
are waiting for me." 

" 1 thought that maybe you'd tell me what 
these letters mean, when put together," said 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 233 

James, spelling out the big word which had 
puzzled him so much. Then he put the Tes- 
tament into the boy's hand, pointing out the 
verse in which the big word was found. 

" That's ' whosoever,' " said the boy. 

"And pray, sir," asked James anxiously, 
" will you please tell me what * whosoever ' 
means ? " 

The boy looked at the word for a moment, 
and then said: — "Why, sir, it means you, or 
me, or anybody.''' 

"Thank you kindly, sir," said the poor 
man, "you've done me a great favor. I am 
very much obliged to you." 

The boy hurried on to join his compan'ons, 
and James returned to his home, saying to 
himself — "'You, or me, or anybody.' Then 
there is salvation for me. The refuge is 
large enough to take me in." 

Our next illustration may be called — 

JERUSALEM SINNERS. 

This was used by John Bunyan, the author 
of " Pilgrim's Progress." He was trying to 



234 BIBLE PROMISES. 

show how large the refuge is, which the gos- 
pel offers for the salvation of men. And in 
doing this, he quoted the words which the 
apostle Peter used, in the sermon he preached 
to the Jews, at Jerusalem, after our Saviour 
had gone back to heaven. "Then said Peter 
unto them, Repent, and be baptized every 
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for 
the remission of sins." Then Bunyan repre- 
sents different persons as coming to Peter 
and asking if it was possible for them to be 
saved. 

One man came and said, " I was among 
those who plotted to take away the life of 
Christ. Is it possible that I can be saved?" 

Peter's answer was: — "Every one of you." 

" But I was one of those who bare false 
witness against Him. Is there any hope for 
me?" 

" For every one of you," said Peter. 

" But I was one of those that cried out — 
4 Crucify Him ! crucify Him ! ' Can there be 
any pardon for me ? " 

"I am sent," said Peter, "to preach re- 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 235 

pentance, and remission of sins to — every 
one of yon." 

" Bat I was one of them that did spit in 
His face, when He stood before His accusers. 
I was also one that mocked Him, when He 
hung in anguish bleeding on the tree. Is 
there room for me?" 

"For every one of yon''' said Peter. 

" But I was one of those who railed on Him," 
said another. " I reviled Him. I hated Him. 
Can there be any hope for me ? " 

" There is," said Peter, "for everyone of 
you." 

Oh, what a blessing there is in these 
words, — "every one of you." Here we see 
how large the refuge is, which w 7 e find in 
Jesus ! No matter how many enter it, there 
is always room for more. It is a large refuge. 

In the third place it is — a well-furnished — 
refuge. 

In this world, it sometimes happens, that 
people reach a refuge they have been seek- 
ing, and enter it; but they do not find in it 
what they need. They may be very hungry 



236 BIBLE PROMISES. 

when they enter the refuge; but they do not 
find in it the food they need to satisfy their 
hunger. They may be very thirsty; but 
there is no water in the refuge for them to 
drink. They may be almost naked; yet find 
no clothes in the refuge for them to wear, 
to keep them warm and comfortable. They 
may be suffering from some painful disease; 
but there is no medicine in the refuge, that 
will heal their disease, and relieve their suf- 
ferings. 

Now, under these circumstances the refuge 
would be of little use. We might as well be 
out of it, as in it. It is not a well-furnished 
refuge. It would do us but little good to 
be in it. 

But ah ! how different it is with that refuge 
for our souls, that we find in Jesus — the eter- 
nal God! All who enter this refuge, find 
that it is indeed a well-furnished refuge. 
If our souls are hungry as we enter it, we 
find here " the bread that came down from 
heaven"; and this relieves our hunger. If 
our souls are thirsty, we find here " the wa^ei 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 237 

of life," and this satisfies our thirst. If our 
souls need clothing, we find here u the gar- 
ments of salvation," — the glorious " robes of 
righteousness" which Jesus has prepared for 
His people to wear, If our souls are suffer- 
ing from any spiritual disease, we can find 
in this refuge, "the balm of Gilead " — which 
■will heal them, and make them well. If we 
feel that our souls are poor, when we enter 
this refuge, we can find here the gold and 
the silver, the gems and the jewels of the 
heavenly world, and these will make us 
truly rich. And so all our wants will be 
supplied. Everything that our souls can 
need, to make them happy for ever, can be 
found in this refuge. And so w r e may well 
speak of it as a well-furnished refuge. 

John Newton was feeling how well this 
refuge is furnished, when he wrote the hymn 
we often sing — 

"How sweet the name of Jesus sounds, 
In a believer's ear ! 
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, 
And drives away his fear. 



238 BIBLE PROMISES. 

"It makes the wounded spirit whole, 
And calms the troubled breast; 
'Tis manna to the hungry soul, 
And to the weary rest." 

And Dr. Doddridge was having the same 
view of this refuge, when he wrote that beau- 
tiful hymn — 

"Jesus ! I love thy charming name, 
'Tis music to mine ear; 
Fain would I sound it out so loud, 
That earth and heaven might hear. 

"Yes! — Thou art precious to my soul, 
My transport and my trust; 
Jewels, to thee, are gaudy toys, 
And gold is sordid dust. 

"All my capacious powers can wish, 
In thee doth richly meet; 
Not to mine eyes is light so dear, 
Nor friendship half so sweet." 

I have just one story to show the meaning 
of this part of our subject, or how well-fur- 
nished this refuge is. We may call it — 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 239 

WHAT AN OLD SLAVE FOUND IN THIS REFUGE. 

Twenty-five or thirty years ago, a New 
York merchant, was travelling through Vir- 
ginia. He was a Christian man, and always 
carried his religion with him. On this oc- 
casion he had lost his way; so he stopped, 
at a little cabin, by the road side, to try and 
get some information about it. He knocked 
at the door of the cabin, and an old negro 
came to see who was there. He had been 
a slave all his days, but was now too old 
to work any more, and he lived in that old 
cabin alone by himself. The gentleman asked 
him some questions about the road he had 
to travel, and soon got all the information 
that he desired. Then he went into the little 
cabin, and sat down to have a talk with 
the old negro. He asked him a number of 
questions, about his past life, which were 
answered satisfactorily. Then, as he looked 
round the cabin, in which he was sitting, 
he saw that there was nothing in it but 
an old bed, a little broken table, and a few 



240 BIBLE PROMISES. 

broken chairs. It was winter, and the cabin 
was cold and smoky. " My friend," said the 
traveller, "your cabin has so little in it to 
make you comfortable, I don't see how you 
manage to get along all by yourself. Don't 
you feel very lonely and sad here ? " 

"Oh! no;" said the old man. "I never 
feel lonely, or sad. I have known, and loved 
the blessed Saviour for many years. He lives 
with me, and that makes it always pleasant 
here. He pardons all my sins. He supplies 
all my wants. I find everything I need in 
Him. The thought of Jesus makes me happy 
by day and by night." 

Now surely that poor old slave found this 
refuge, which Jesus makes for His people — 
a well-furnished refuge. 

The fourth, and last thing that we ivould say 
about this refuge is, that it is — a safe — refuge. 

It is very important for us to know that 
this refuge is safe. The other good things 
about it, of which we have spoken, will be 
of little consequence, unless we can be sure, 
that when we enter this refuge, we shall find 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 241 

ourselves safe in it. No matter how near it 
may be — nor how large — nor how well-fur- 
nished ; it will all be of no use, unless at the 
same time it is safe. We may find all the 
good things in it, that we need, and yet, 
unless we can be sure that this refuge cannot 
be destroyed; or that our enemies cannot 
follow us there, to do us harm, it would be 
good for nothing after all. 

Whatever earthly refuges we may flee to, 
it never can be said of them that they are 
perfectly safe. Some enemy may follow us 
there, and be powerful enough to burst open 
the iron gates of the refuge, or to break 
down its stone walls; and then we should be 
in the power of our enemy, and he could do 
us all the harm he pleased. 

But, it is very different with the refuge 
which we find in our eternal God. The 
safety of this refuge does not depend on 
locks, or bolts, or bars — on gates of brass, 
or walls of stone. God Himself forms this 
refuge. This makes its safety perfect. His 
almighty power is exercised, all the time, for 



242 BIBLE PROMISES, 

the safety of those who enter this refuge. 
And unless some one can be found, whose 
power, and wisdom are greater than God's, 
those who enter this refuge never need fear 
about its safety. God watches over it night 
and day. His unslumbering eye is ever 
upon it. His outspread wing is ever over it; 
and His almighty arm is ever around it. 
And so, when we enter this refuge, we may 
do it with the assurance that we are perfectly 
safe within its walls. 

Here are some illustrations of the safety 
found in this refuge, and of the comfort 
which we should find in the thought of this 
safety. 

Our first story may be called — 

PAPA IS RUNNING THE ENGINE. 

" Some years ago," says a Christian gen- 
tleman, u I was in a train of cars, on the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railway. The train was 
behind time, and was rushing along at an 
unusually rapid rate. The passengers were 
afraid that some accident would happen, and 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 243 

all eyes were turned anxiously to the win- 
dows, as the train flew past. 

11 1 was thinking of the fearful scenes that 
would be witnessed, if the train should be 
thrown over the embankment, when I saw a 
bright little girl, four or five years old, 
coming towards me. She held out her little 
hand, and said — ' Good morning,' in a sweet 
clear voice. I asked her if she was not 
afraid to ride in the cars. 

" ' Sometimes, I am. But this morning I am 
not at all afraid.' 'Why,' I asked, 'are 
you not afraid this morning? Everybody 
else seems to be afraid, because we are run- 
ning so rapidly.' ' Oh, there is no danger 
at all, to-day,' she replied, 'because father is 
running the engine.' " 

Her father was the engineer, and she had 
such entire confidence in his ability to pro- 
tect her, that she felt perfectly safe and 
happy. And if that dear child could have 
such confidence in her earthly father, how 
much more we should trust in our heavenly 
Father, who is "running the engine" of this 



244 BIBLE PROMISES. 

world's government; and is ordering and 
controlling everything in heaven above, and 
■upon the earth beneath ! When clouds, and 
storms, and darkness surround our path, let 
us think of our Father in heaven, and feel 
safe, in all dangers, because He is our refuge, 
and nothing can harm us while under His 
care. 

Our next story is about — 

THE COMFORT FOUND FROM TRUSTING GOD. 

During an earthquake that took place, a 
few years ago, the inhabitants of a small 
village were very much alarmed. But there 
was a good old Christian lady who lived 
there, and whom all the villagers knew very 
well. They were very much surprised to see 
how calm and happy this old lady was, 
when all the rest of the villagers were so 
very much frightened. 

At last one of her friends said to her — 
" Why, mother, how is it that you are not 
afraid when the earth is shaking so ? " 

"I am not afraid," was her answer, "be- 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 245 

cause I know I have a God who can shake 
the world; and who is able to keep me per- 
fectly safe while winds are blowing; or 
storms are bursting; or earthquakes are 
rending the ground." 

That good old Christian was in this refuge, 
and we see how safe it made her feel ! 

I have only one other story. It may be 
called — 

OUR SAFETY IN CHRIST. 

" When I was in England," says a good 
Christian lady from Philadelphia, "a friend 
told me a simple story in which I was 
greatly interested. The reason why I was 
so pleased with this story, was because it 
illustrates so beautifully the safety we find, 
when we flee to Jesus as our refuge. 

44 4 1 was taking a nap one summer after- 
noon,' said my friend, 4 while staying at 
the home of my aunt in the country. Pres- 
sntly I was wakened by hearing a strange 
sort of noise, as if something was knocking 
at the window. I rose, and went to the 



246 BIBLE PROMISES. 

window, to find out what it was. When I 
got there, I found a butterfly, inside the 
window-pane in a great fright. He saw a 
large sparrow, standing on the window 
ledge, outside, pecking at the window, and 
trying to get in. The butterfly did not see 
the glass, nor know that it was there. But 
it knew that the sparrow was its enemy 
and it was afraid, every minute, that the 
sparrow would catch it, and eat it up. Poor 
thing! no wonder it was afraid. And the 
sparrow did not see the glass either. It 
was expecting every minute to get hold of 
the butterfly, and make a good dinner of 
it. And yet the poor butterfly was just as 
safe, as if it had been miles and miles away. 
That thick pane of glass was between it,, 
and its enemy ; and that made a safe refuge 
for it.' " 

And so it is with us when we come 
to Jesus as our refuge, and abide in Him. 
We are safe then, perfectly safe. His pres- 
ence, and His power, are between us, and 
every danger. He says to us, as He said 



THE PROMISED REFUGE. 247 

to Abraham: — "Fear not; I am thy shield." 
This shield is what makes our refuge safe. 
Let us remember the four things about 
this refuge of which we have spoken. It is 
a near refuge; a large refuge; a well-furnished 
refuge; and a safe refuge. Let us thank 
God for providing such a refuge for us. Let 
us all flee to this refuge, and abide in it; and 
then, in life, and in death — in time, and in 
eternity — it will be well with us. 

"The eternal God is thy refuge." 



IX. 

THE PROMISE OF -THE DEW. 



IX. 

THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 

"I will he as the dew unto Israel." — Hosea xiv. 5. 

This is a beautiful promise. It was first 
made to the Jews; but it belongs just as truly 
to us Gentiles, when we become Christians, 
as it did to the Jews. We can take it as 
our own. And we may learn from it some 
very useful, practical lessons. Here God 
promises to be to us "as the dew." We all 
know what the dew is. If we are out in 
the country, and take a walk in the morn- 
ing before breakfast, we shall see, on the 
flowers in the garden, and on the grass in 
the fields, tiny little drops of water, clear 
as crystal, and sparkling with beauty as the 
sunbeams fall upon them. Those are drops 
of dew. They are just like so many bright 
jewels, or little rainbows. And if you ask 

[25H 



252 BIBLE PROMISES. 

where those dewdrops come from, it is easy 
to answer the question. 

You know there is always more or less 
of moisture in the air around us. As the 
sun shines on the ponds, or lakes, or streams 
about us, it makes the water on the surface 
warm. Then some of it turns into vapor, 
and floats away in the atmosphere. But 
when night comes on, the air gets cooler; 
and then it has to give up some of the mois- 
ture which it had received during the day. 
And so it leaves this moisture in the drops 
of dew, that are formed on the flowers, and 
on the grass. 

Somebody has well said, that — ■" the drops 
of dew are the tears which night sheds for 
the absence of the sun." 

The dew is very useful in all countries. 
But it was particularly so in the land of 
Israel. They did not have much rain there. 
But they had heavier dews than we have 
in our country. The flowers in the gardens 
of the Israelites, and the grass in their fields, 
would all have withered and died, if it had 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 253 

not been for the abundant dew they had. 
It was a great blessing to them. And when 
God promises, in our text, to be " as the 
dew," to His people, He means to say that 
the blessing of His grace shall do good to 
our souls, just as the dew does to the flowers, 
and the grass. And so, our sermon to-day 
is about — the promise of the dew. 

The plants in our gardens receive three 
blessings, from the dew which falls upon 
them; and the dew of God's grace brings 
the same blessings to our souls. 

The first blessing which follows from the deio 

is LIFE AND GROWTH. 

The grass of the field, and the flowers of 
the garden, depend on the dew to keep them 
alive, and to help them to grow. But the 
dew of God's blessing does more for our 
souls, than the natural dew can do for the 
flowers of the field. If the flowers are dead, 
all the natural dew in the world never could 
make one of them alive again. But the dew 
of God's grace or blessing, can do this. It 
is making dead souls alive all the time. 



254 BIBLE PROMISES. 

And then it keeps them alive, and makes 
them grow. This was what the apostle 
meant, when he said: — "By the grace of 
God I am what I am." It was the grace 
of God, or the dew of His blessing, which 
changed him from being a persecutor of 
the Church of God, to be a Christian, and a 
preacher of that gospel, which he had once 
labored hard to destroy. And it was the 
same dew of God's blessing which made 
him so earnest, and faithful in seeking to 
spread abroad the knowledge of Christ, and 
His salvation, to the ends of the earth. 

Now, let us look at some illustrations 
of the way in which the dew of God's 
blessing, causes the souls of His people 
to grow in what is good. Our first story 
shows — 

HOW A GENTLE BOY GREW TO BE A GENTLEMAN. 

u You see I am a gentleman!" said Will 
Thompson. "I will take no insult." And 
the little fellow strutted up and down m 
a rage. He had been throwing stones at 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 255 

Peter Jones, and ho thought that his anger 
proved him to be a gentleman. 

"If you want to be a gentleman," said his 

teacher who was standing by, " I should 
think you would be a gentle boy first. Gen- 
tlemen do not throw stones at their neigh- 
bors. Peter Jones did not throw stones at 
you, and I think he is much more likely 
to prove a gentleman." 

11 But he's got patches on his pantaloons," 
said Will in a scornful tone. 

u Bad pantaloons don't keep a boy from 
being a gentleman," said the teacher, " but 
a bad temper does. Now William, if you 
want to be a gentleman, you must first be a 
gentle boy." 

After walking further on, the teacher met 
little Peter Jones. Some stones had hit him, 
and he was hurt by them. 

" Well, Peter, what's the matter between you 
and Will this morning? " asked the teacher. 

"I was throwing a ball at one of the boys 
in play, sir, and it missed him, and hit Will 
Thompson's dog." 



256 BIBLE PROMISES. 

il Why did you not throw back at him, 
when he had thrown at you ? " 

11 Because, sir, my mother says if I want 
to be a gentleman, I must learn to be a gen- 
tle boy; so I thought it was best to keep out 
of his way, till he had time to cool down a 
little." 

The teacher praised Peter for the way in 
which he had acted, and encouraged him 
to go on doing so. Then, as he walked tow- 
ards his home, he made up his mind to 
watch those two boys and see how they 
turned out. He lived to see them both grow 
up. Will Thompson turned out to be a self- 
ish, rowdy fellow, whom nobody loved, or 
cared for; while Peter Jones became a gen- 
tleman who was loved and respected by all 
who knew him. 

Bat, it was the dew of God's blessing rest- 
ing on that gentle boy, which caused him to 
grow up into the gentleman that he after- 
wards became. 

Our next illustration may be called — 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 257 



THE COLORED MAX AND THE BIBLE. 

The tree is known by its fruits, and a book 
is known by its effects. An infidel once told 
a colored Christian man, that the Bible, of 
which he loved to talk so much, was not true. 
The poor man had no learning. He had 
never read many books. And yet, the most 
learned man in the land could not have given 
the infidel a better answer than this poor 
man did. Pointing to a Bible, that lay on 
the table before him, he said to the infidel: 
— "Massa, you say dat Book is not true. Dat 
Book is true. I was once a drunkard, a liar, 
a blasphemer. 1 used to steal, and quarrel 
with everybody. But dat Book made a great 
change in me. It taught me to be honest, 
and true, and gentle, and sober. If dat Book 
was not true, if it was a bad Book, it would 
(never make a bad man good." 

That was an excellent answer. A bad 
book may make a good man bad, bat it will 
not make a bad man good. The men who 
read the Bible and obey it, are the best men 



258 BIBLE PROMISES. 

in the world; but the men who do not read 
it, or who hate and despise it, are the worst. 
Wherever this Book goes, and is rightly used, 
the dew of God's blessing goes with it, and 
this makes men useful and happy. It pro- 
motes the growth of every good thought, and 
feeling in their minds and hearts, just as the 
dew in the garden causes the flowers to grow. 
It was the dew of God's blessing on his 
reading of the Bible, which made such a 
change in the man, of whom we have just 
spoken; and which caused him to grow in 
the grace, and knowledge, and love of God. 
I have only one other illustration of this 
part of our subject. We may call it — 

DO YOUR BEST. 

" When I was a little boy," said a gentle- 
man, one day, to a friend with whom he was 
talking; U I paid a visit to my grandfather. 
He was an aged man, and wore a black vel- 
vet cap, and knee breeches with large silver 
buckles at the knees. When 1 went to say 
good-by to him, he took me between his 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 250 

knees, kissed me kindly, and then laying his 
hand on my head, he said — 

"'My dear boy, I have only one thing to 
say to you. Will you try and remember 
it?' 

" I looked him in the face, and said — 
'I will, grandpa.' 

"'Well,' said he, 'it is this: whatever you 
have to do, always do the best you can.'* 

"This, in fact," said the gentleman, " was 
my grandfather's legacy to me. It was 
worth more than thousands of gold and 
silver. I never forget his words, and have 
always tried to act upon them. After reach- 
ing home, my father gave my brother Marcus 
and myself, some beds to weed in the garden. 
It was Saturday afternoon, and we had ar- 
ranged to go a-fishing. We were greatly 
disappointed, and not in a very good humor. 
Marcus fretted and worried, and didn't half 
do his work. I began in the same way. 
But presently I remembered grandpa's advice, 
and resolved to follow it, I went to work 
and did my best. After awhile, father came 



260 BIBLE PROMISES. 

out to see how we were getting on. I never 
shall forget how pleased he looked, when 
he saw the beds that I had weeded; nor 
the ten cent piece that he slipped into my 
hand, as he said — 'Well done, Willie; now 
you can go and play.' Marcus had to drudge 
over his beds all the afternoon. He got no 
play, no praise, and no ten cent piece. 

u At fifteen I was sent to the academy. I 
followed my grandfather's advice there. It 
soon put me at the head of my class, and 
kept me there. 

u Before my year was out, my mother had 
three offers of places for me. One of these 
was from the best merchant in the village. 
In going into business, I followed grandfa- 
ther's advice, and always did the best I 
sould. This made me successful. When I 
joined the church I tried to do the Lord's 
work as I did my own, and the same rule 
has made me successful there too." 

This gentleman is one of the best business 
men in the place where he lives, one of 
the best citizens, one of the best officers of 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 201 

the church, one of the best friends of the 
poor, one of the best neighbors, fathers, 
husbands, friends; he is universally loved 
and respected. And what was the secret 
of his success? It was the dew of God's 
blessing resting on him, as he faithfully fol- 
lowed his grandfather's advice. This led 
to the growth of his character from the 
unknown little boy, to the successful man 
of business — the earnest, happy, useful Chris- 
tian. Let every boy and girl follow this 
example, and always resolve to do the best 
you can. The first blessing which follows 
from the dew, is life and growth. 

The second blessing ivhich follows from the 

dew is BEAUTY. 

If we walk through a field in which the 
grass is withered, or through a garden in 
which all the flowers are dead, everything 
will seem dreary and desolate. But if we 
walk through a field where the grass is 
growing finely; or through a garden where 
all the flowers are blooming brightly — how 
much beauty we shall see, on every hand! 



262 BIBLE PROMISES. 

And if we see the dewdrops trembling on 
the leaves of the flowers, and sparkling like 
rainbows, as the sunbeams shine on them, 
this will greatly increase the beauty of the 
scene. 

Now the Church is God's garden ; and His 
people are the flowers growing in it. His 
grace, or blessing, is the dew that rests on 
these flowers. And the effect of this dew 
upon them is, not only to promote their life, 
and growth, as we have seen, but also to 
increase their beauty. Jesus, our glorious 
Saviour, is the model of beauty, in the hea- 
venly world, as well as in this. And, as 
the dew of His blessing rests on His people, 
it makes them more and more like Himself; 
and the more they become like Him, the 
greater their beauty will be. Let us look 
at some illustrations of the beauty that ap- 
pears in those on whom the dew of God's 
blessing is resting, making them more like 
Jesus. 

Our first story may be called — 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 2G3 

A BEAUTIFUL TEMPER. 

This story is told of a faithful minister of 
the gospel, who had a large share of the dew 
of God's blessing resting upon him, and was 
greatly beloved by all who knew him. 

One spring he had been laying out, and 
ornamenting the grounds about his house. 
He had spared no expense or labor, and they 
were put in the nicest possible order. But, 
on the very first night after the work was 
finished, with its grading, and terracing, and 
sodding, and planting, a herd of wandering 
swine got into the grounds. They spent the 
greater part of the night there. Their busy 
snouts were hard at work rooting up the 
beds of the garden which had just been nicely 
dressed, and the new made grass plots were 
all turned upside down. Everything was 
wrecked and ruined. When the good old 
Doctor stepped out on his porch the next 
morning, to take a little walk before break- 
fast, he saw at a glance, all the mischief 
which had been done. This would have 



264 BIBLE PROMISES. 

made many a man very angry; and he would 
have been tempted to say some sharp things. 
But it was different with this good minister. 
Of course he was truly sorry when he saw 
what had been done. He stood for a mo- 
ment, and looked calmly at the ruin brought 
upon his grounds; and then, without speak- 
ing one angry word, as he turned to go into 
the house again, he quietly said: — "Well, 
you never can lay dirt so as to suit a 
hog ! " 

Certainly it was a beautiful temper which 
that good old minister had. And here we 
see the effect which the dew of God's blessing 
had upon him. 

Our next story may be called — 

ONE TO BE TRUSTED. 

A New York captain, whose ship was fast- 
ened to the wharf, had to be absent from the 
city for several days. His mates were away 
too, and there was no one he could trust 
with the charge of the Teasel. A man by 
the name of John, was recommended to him 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 2G5 

as a fit person. But the captain knew noth- 
ing of him, and had no confidence in him. 
He thought every sailor would steal, when 
he got a chance. But he could do no bet- 
ter, so he engaged John to keep watch for 
him, but he locked up everything on board 
the ship, because he was afraid to trust 
him. 

Early the next morrfing, before leaving the 
city, he thought he would .just step on board 
the ship to see how things looked. So he 
went on board, and walked quietly to the 
door of the cabin. There was a pane of glass 
in that door. He looked through the win- 
dow, and what should he see, but John on 
his knees, with an open Bible before him. 
He had been reading the Bible, and was 
then engaged in prayer. The captain was 
delighted. He thought that was one of the 
pleasantest sights he had ever seen. It re- 
lieved him of all fear about the ship. The 
captain walked about the deck till John came 
out. Then he went up to him, and handing 
him all the ship's keys said: — "John, you 



266 BIBLE PROMISES. 

may open all the drawers and trunks and 
air the things in them. Keep a sharp look 
out, John, for the thieves along the wharves. 
Have everything snug; and I'll be back in 
two or three days." 

Then he went off, feeling greatly relieved 
and comforted by what he had seen of John. 
The dew of God's blessing was resting on 
that man, and it was this which made him 
appear in a light that was so pleasant and 
beautiful to the captain. 

Our next story we may call — 

A BEAUTIFUL BOY. 

Little Mary was prettily dressed, and was 
standing in front of their house, waiting for 
her mother to take her out riding. 

A nice tidy boy, though dressed in very 
plain clothes, was passing by, when the little 
girl said — " Come here, boy, and s'ake hands 
wi' me. I dot a boy dus' like you named 
Joey." 

The boy laughed, shook hands with her, 
and said — " I've got a little girl just like you, 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 2G7 

only she hasn't any little cloak with pussy 
fur on it."' 

el ust then a lady came out of the door of 
the house, and said — "Mary, you mustn't 
play with bad boys on the street," And 
looking at the boy, she said — " I hope 
you haven't stolen anything from her. Go 
right along, and never stop here again, 
boy." 

On the evening of that day, this lady was 
called downstairs, to speak to a little boy. 
He was very neatly dressed, and stood with 
his cap in his hand. The lady saw, in a mo- 
ment, that it was the same boy who had been 
there in the morning, and to whom she had 
spoken so sharply. 

" I came to tell you, ma'am," said he, 
"that I am not a bad boy. I go to Sunday 
School; and help my mother all I can. I 
never tell lies, nor quarrel, nor say bad 
words, and I don't like a lady to call me bad 
names, and ask me if I have stolen anything 
from her little girl." 

"I'm very glad you're so good," said the 



268 BIBLE PROMISES. 

lady, laughing at the boy's earnestness. 
" Here's a quarter of a dollar for you." 

" Thank you, ma'am, but I don't want 
that," said the little fellow, lifting up his 
head very high. u My father works in the 
foundry, and has lots of money. You have 
a boy bigger than I, haven't you?" 

u Yes, but why do you ask that?" 

" Does he know the ten commandments ? " 

"I'm afraid not very well." 

" Can he say the Sermon on the Mount, 
and the twenty-third Psalm, and the Golden 
Kule?" 

" I'm very much afraid he can't," said the 
lady, smiling at the little boy. 

" Doesn't he ride on his pony on Sunday, 
instead of going to church?" 

" I'm afraid he does, but he ought not," 
said the lady, blushing a little. 

" Mother don't know that I've come here," 
said the little fellow, u but I thought I'd 
come round and see what kind of folks you 
are, and — and I guess mother would rather 
your boy wouldn't come about our door, be- 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 2fl9 

cause she don't like little Susie to talk to bad 
boys in the street. Good evening, ma'am — " 
and off the little fellow went. 

Now the dew of God's blessing was resting 
on that boy. It enabled him to teach that 
lady a beautiful lesson, and set her boy a 
beautiful example. 

I have one other illustration of this part 
of our subject. We may call it — 

WHITER THAN SNOW 

In one of the beautiful palaces of England, 
there lived a nobleman, who was not a 
Christian, and never went to church. He 
had a lovely little girl, about six years old. 
Her name was — Alberta. She was the de- 
light of her father's heart. 

One day she was alone with him in his 
library, engaged in play. Presently she 
stopped her play, and looking earnestly into 
her father's face, she said: " Papa, do you 
know anything whiter than snow ? " 

u No, my darling," said he, " there isn't 
anything whiter than snow." 



270 BIBLE PROMISES. 

" Oh ! but there is," said the child. 

" Pray what is it, my child?" he asked. 

" Father, the soul washed in the blood of 
the Lord Jesus is whiter than snow." 

The nobleman was surprised and displeased 
at this. He had never taught his child any- 
thing about religion, and did not want to 
have any one else teach it to her. 

" Who taught you that, my child?" he 
asked. 

" Mary, my nurse," was her reply. 
* Her father rang a bell, and presently a 
servant appeared. "Tell Mary, the nurse 
of Alberta, to come here at once." 

The nurse came. She was asked if she 
had taught Alberta this about the blood of 
Christ. She admitted that she had. Then 
the nobleman said: — "I cannot allow you, 
or any one else to undertake to teach my 
child such things as this." And then taking 
out his watch he said: "You can go to the 
steward, and get the wages due to you, and 
then leave the castle within an hour." 

"Not long after this, a royal prince came 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 271 

to spend a few days with this nobleman. It 

was the occasion of great rejoicing to all in 
the castle. One day during this visit, the 
prince was sitting with the nobleman in his 
library engaged in conversation. Alberta 
was there playing with her doll. The Prince 
called her to him, and taking her on his 
knee, had a talk with her. Presently she 
fixed her large eyes on his face, and said: — 
" Prince, do you know anything that is whiter 
than snow ? " 

"No, dear," said he, "I have never heard 
of anything whiter than snow, have you ? " 

"Oh! yes, Prince; the soul tvashed from its 
sins in the blood of Jesus Christ, is whiter than 
snowy There was silence in that library 
after this. Neither the Prince, nor the noble- 
man had a word to say. But the repeating 
of these words by his child, had a strange 
effect on Alberta's father. It led him to 
think and pray over it. Before long he be- 
came a Christian. Alberta's nurse, Mary, 
was brought back to the castle. She was 
restored to her old place, and told that she 



272 BIBLE PROMISES. 

might talk to the dear child about Jesus, as 
much as she pleased. 

We think of the snow, in its purity, as one 
of the most beautiful things in the world. 
And so it is. But yet, the soul that has 
been washed in the blood of Jesus is whiter, 
and more beautiful than snow. 

The second blessing that follows from the 
dew is — beauty. 

The third blessing that folloivs from the dew 

is FRUITFULNESS. 

In the garden we find bushes and plants 
that bear fruits of various kinds. Straw- 
berries, and raspberries, and currants, and 
gooseberries, and other kinds of fruit are 
found there. And these depend largely on 
the dew that falls on them every night, to 
enable them to bring forth plenty of fruit. 
The dewdrops moisten the soil in which those 
plants are growing, and also the leaves, 
and buds, and berries, which make up the 
plants themselves, and so increase very much 
the amount of fruit which they bear. If 
there were no dew on those plants, they 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 273 

would wither, and become weak and sickly, 
and bear little or no fruit. But plenty of 
dew falling upon them, will greatly increase 
their fruitfulness. 

And just so, in the garden of God's Church, 
the dew of His blessing, causes the souls of 
His people, to bring forth plentifully the 
fruits of good works. 

The apostle Paul was the most fruitful 
plant ever found in this garden. From the 
time that he became a Christian, until the 
day of his death, he was actively engaged in 
all sorts of good works. He went on one 
missionary journey after another, going all 
round the world, and preaching Jesus Christ 
to souls that were perishing. And it was 
the dew of God's blessing, which made him 
so fruitful in good works. And what this 
dew did for St. Paul, when he was on our 
earth, eighteen hundred years ago, it can do 
for all God's people now. Let us look at 
some examples of the fruitfulness caused by 
this dew. 

Our first example may be called — 



274 BIBLE PROMISES. 

SOWING AND REAPING. 

The Eev. Joseph Entwistle, was a very- 
faithful minister of the Gospel in England. 
One day he was walking along one of the 
principal streets in Liverpool, when a tall, 
clerical looking gentleman placed his hand 
upon his shoulder, and said — "Do you re- 
member me, Mr. Entwistle!" 

"No, sir," was his reply. "I have no 
recollection of ever having seen you before." 

" Well, sir, don't you remember, many 
years ago, walking on the terrace of the 
Kingswood School, and teaching a little boy 
these lines — 

" 'Whate'er thy age would reap, thy youth must sow, 
For the great seedtime of thy life is now.' " 

"Oh! yes, sir; I remember that, very well." 
" Well, sir, I'm that boy. Those lines 

were a great blessing to me. They led to 

my conversion. And now, I am a minister 

of the Gospel.'* 

What a small seed it was, which that good 

minister was sowing, when he taught that 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 275 

boy those two lines ! But the dew of God's 
blessing rested on that seed, and made it 
very fruitful. All the good that followed 
from the life and labors of that minister, 
would be the harvest that grew up from 
that one little seed. 

Our next illustration may be called — 

TUK FRUIT OF ONE MANS LABORS. 

Some years ago, a young business man 
was converted from infidelity, by the efforts 
of a Christian lady. He made up his mind 
to study for the ministry. But, while going 
on with his studies, he resolved to try and 
make himself useful, by working for Jesus. 
He gave up his Sundays, and the time not 
devoted to study, to try and do some good 
in a poor and neglected neighborhood. There 
was no church, and no Sunday School, in 
that part of the city, and no place in which 
to hold one. At last he found an unfinished 
house, and succeeded in renting the third 
story of it. He had it plastered, and fitted 
up for a Sunday School. 



276 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Very few persons came at first. But he 
went on, diligently visiting through the 
neighborhood, and earnestly praying for 
the dew of God's blessing to rest on his 
labors. The attendance on his school stead- 
ily increased, till finally it was crowded. 

Then he went to work, to try and build 
a church in that neighborhood. By his per- 
severing efforts the money was raised, and 
a neat substantial stone church was built. 
Then a parsonage was put up; and now a 
large congregation of the poor, meet regu- 
larly there to worship God, and give evidence 
in their daily lives, that they are His true 
and faithful servants. 

And all around that church, dark homes 
have been brightened, and multitudes once 
living in sin and misery, are now happy and 
useful in serving God. And all this good 
fruit was brought forth by the dew of God's 
blessing on the labors of that one man. 

I have one other illustration of this part 
of our subject. We may call it — 



THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 277 

ONE WOMAN'S WORK. 

Some years ago, Mrs. Bartlett, an earnest 
Christian woman, was asked to take tempo- 
rary charge of a class of three young women, 
in the Sunday School connected with Mr. 
Spurgeon's Church in London. It was an 
humble work, but she was afraid to under- 
take it, and only consented to do so when 
very much pressed. She was not a woman 
of much education or talent. But she was 
a Christian of deep and earnest piety. At 
the close of the first month, she had been 
so successful that they urged her to become 
the permanent teacher of the class. She con- 
sented to do so. Her class increased in num- 
bers. Before long it was necessary to get 
a larger room for her. This room would 
hold fifty scholars. This was soon filled. 
Then they got her one that would hold 
eighty. In a little while this was crowded 
full. Finally they gave her the use of the 
lecture room connected with Mr. Spurgeon's 
Church. This would hold a thousand people, 
and there this class increased, till it mini- 



278 BIBLE PROMISES. 

bered near seven hundred members. During 
the time in which Mrs. Bartlett was teaching 
that class, nearly a thousand of its members 
joined themselves to different churches in 
London, and became earnest and devoted 
servants of Christ. This faithful teacher 
continued her work till she was sixty-nine 
years old. Then her labors on earth were 
ended, and she entered into "the rest that 
remaineth for the people of God." And even 
during her last sickness, she was thinking all 
the time about her class. As she remem- 
bered, one and another, who had not been 
converted, she was heard praying for them 
individually: — " Lord, save her. Save her 
now." And then, as she thought of the 
whole class, her prayer would be — " Lord, 
bless and save them all. Save them all, for 
Jesus' sake. Amen." 

Who can tell the amount of good that 
was done by the labors of that one faithful 
Christian woman? But all this fruitfulness 
was brought forth by the dew of God's 
blessing that rested on her work. 






THE PROMISE OF THE DEW. 279 

We have spoken of three blessings which 
follow from the natural dew that rests on 
the plants in our gardens; and of the cor- 
responding blessings that follow from the 
dew of God's grace as it rests upon the souls 
of His people. The first of these is life and 
groivth; the second is beauty; and the third 
is fruitfulness. Let our earnest prayer be, 
for the promised dew of God's blessing to 
rest upon our souls — and then growth, and 
beauty, and faithfulness, will mark all that 
we may be permitted to do for Him. 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 



X. 

THE PROMISED GRACE. 

" My grace is sufficient for thee." — II Corinthians 
xii. 9. 

Very few of "the exceeding great and 
precious promises'' of God's word have 
been oftener used, or found more profitable 
than this. Our present course of sermons on 
u Bible Promises," would hardly be complete, 
if this were left out. 

If you and I could enter heaven, and talk 
with the people of God, in the happiness 
which they are enjoying there; and if we 
should ask, one after another of them, to 
tell us about some of the trials they had met 
with while on earth; and of the comfort 
they had found from this promise, when 
passing through those trials, what inter- 
esting stories they would tell us ! It is 

(283) 



284 BIBLE PROMISES. 

eighteen hundred years ago, since this 
promise was given to the apostle Paul. 
And in all those many years, there has 
never been a single day, in which one, or 
more of God's people have not been helped, 
and comforted, by this precious promise. 
And what this promise has done for them, 
it is able to do for us. If we only remember 
it, and use it, as God intends that we should 
do, wo shall find it a great help to us. 

Our sermon to-day is about — the promised 
grace. 

And if we use this promise, in the right 
way, we shall find that the grace of which 
it speaks will be sufficient to do three great 
things for us. 

In the first place, it ivill give us — strength 

FOR DUTY. 

And this is what we need all the time. Our 
Saviour said to His disciples — " Without me 
ye can do nothing." This is just as true, of 
each of us, as it was of them. Of ourselves 
we cannot think a good thought. We can- 
not put into our hearts one good desire. 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 285 

And if that desire were there, we have no 
power, of ourselves, to carry it out, or bring 
it to good effect. When left to ourselves 
we are not able to speak good words, or to 
perform good works of any kind. And it is 
just this fact, which makes the promise of 
our text so precious and valuable to us. 
When God says — " My grace is sufficient 
for thee," He means that it will supply all 
our need, and enable us to do our duty, in a 
way that we never could do, without that 
grace. In the beautiful language of one of 
the Collects of the Prayer Book, it will — 
" help us to think those things that are good, 
and also to perform the same." 

The apostle Paul said — " I can do all 
things through Christ strengthening me." 
He meant by this, that the grace of God was 
sufficient to enable him to do his duty, in 
all things. And the grace that was suffi- 
cient for him, will be sufficient for you and 
me. Here are some illustrations of this 
part of our subject. The first story shows 
us how — 



286 BIBLE PROMISES. 

THE GRACE OF GOD HELPED A BOY TO 
DO HIS DUTY. 

A boy named Charles, on leaving home to 
go into business, had a companion who 
slept in the same room with him, and who 
never said his prayers at night. This boy's 
name was John. 

The first night Charles was there, he 
did not know what to do about saying 
his prayers. Satan whispered to him — 
"Never mind about kneeling down. You 
can pray in your heart. God will hear it 
just as well. Or you can wait till you get 
into bed, and say your prayers. Then no one 
will see you, and it will be just the same, as 
if you were on your knees." 

But Charles had been taught by a pious 
mother, now in heaven, always to kneel 
down by his bedside to say his prayers; and 
he felt that it was his duty to do so. 

He got over the difficulty the first night, 
by waiting till his companion was in bed, 
and asleep, and then he knelt down, and said 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 287 

his prayers as usual. But the next night he 
got first to his room, and being alone he 
knelt down to pray. While he was thus en- 
gaged, he heard the footsteps of his com- 
panion coming up the stairs, and hesitated 
about what he should do. The tempter said 
to him — u Get up; he'll see you, and laugh 
at you, and you'll never hear the end of it." 
But conscience said to him — "No; your duty 
is to stay on your knees, and pray on." And 
the grace of God was sufficient to help him 
do his duty. This was a blessing to Charles 
through all his after life. He learned to be 
always decided in doing his duty. And his 
example that night was a blessing to his 
companion. It led him also to kneel down 
and pray to God. 

The late excellent Wm. E. Dodge, of New 
York, tells the next story. It shows us — • 

HOW THE GRACE OF GOD HELPED AN ENGINEER TO 
DO HIS DUTY. 

" Some years ago," says Mr. Dodge, " while 
I was Superintendent of the Fourteenth 



288 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Street Church Sunday School, I had a most 
faithful teacher, who was an engineer on the 
New Haven Railroad, and who ran the eight 
o'clock morning express, leaving daily, ex- 
cept Sunday. One winter there had been a 
heavy snow storm all Saturday. On Sunday 
morning, the snow was very deep all along 
the road. About half past eight o'clock, the 
Superintendent of the road sent word to this 
engineer, to come and get out his engine 
and help to clear the road. He sent back 
word that he was just going to Sabbath 
School, and could not come. The messenger 
was ordered to return, and say that he must 
come at once, and get out his engine. The 
reply he sent back was: — 'I am only en- 
gaged to run the daily express. I am ready 
at all times to do anything else the Superin- 
tendent may require; but now, my duty to 
God calls me to my Sunday School class, and 
I dare not run an engine on the Sabbath 
day.' 

" When he came to the school that morn- 
ing, I saw he looked anxious," says Mr. 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 289 

Dodge, "and as I passed him, he said: — 
'Mr. Dodge, I suppose I have lost my situ- 
ation on the railroad, because I would not 
break the Sabbath.' Then he told me all 
about it. 

14 1 said to him — 'If you are discharged for 
such a cause, let me know about it, and I will 
secure you as good a position on the New 
Jersey Central Railroad. But you go in the 
morning to the Superintendent, and politely 
and frankly state your case to him. I know 
him very well, and I don't think you will 
have any trouble.' 

" I did not see this engineer again," says 
Mr. Dodge, " till he came to school the next 
Sabbath morning. I asked him what was 
the result; his reply was — 'I went as you 
suggested, and began to explain, when he 
stopped me and said, " I understand, and 
appreciate your conscientious feelings. You 
{shall never again be called upon to run your 
engine on Sunday." ' 

" And that conscientious Sunday School 
teacher," said Mr. Dodge, " is now receiving 



290 BIBLE PROMISES. 

higher wages than any other engineer on 
that road." 

Now it was the grace of God, which helped 
that man to do his duty. And in doing it 
he found out how true it is, as David says, 
that — "In keeping God's commandments, 
there is great reward." 

Here is one more story to illustrate this 
part of our subject. It shows us how — 

A YOUNG CHRISTIAN GIRL WAS HELPED, BY THE 
GRACE OF GOD, TO DO HER DUTY. 

She had charge of the children in a very 
wealthy family. One day she called on the 
minister whose church she attended, and said: 

" I have called to tell you, sir, that I think 
of leaving my present situation." 

u Why so?" inquired her pastor. 

" Why, sir, my mistress pays no attention 
to the children, but leaves the entire care 
of them with me, and I feel that it is more 
than I can stand. Sometimes I never see 
her for three or four days together. She is 
what is called a fashionable woman; and is 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 291 

constantly going to balls, and operas, and 
theatres. She leaves the entire charge of 
four young children to me, and seldom takes 
any notice of them." 

After thinking over the matter a little, 
the minister advised his young friend, not 
to leave her situation. "True," said he, 
"your duty there is very trying. But I 
am sure that God will help you to do your 
duty, and will bless you in doing it." 

The minister's advice was taken, and the 
young woman remained in her situation. 

About a year after this, she called on her 
minister again. Now, she was dressed in 
black, and in a few words she told how her 
mother had died, and that her father, a 
small farmer in the country, nee-ded her 
help in his home. 

" For this reason," she said, " I am going 
to leave my place, sir. I have called to say 
good-bye, and to thank you for the advice 
you gave me, when I called on you before. 
1 am sure, sir, you will be glad to hear of 
the change that has taken place in my mis- 



292 BIBLE PROMISES. 

tress, within the last few months. She has 
given up going to balls and theatres. She 
has become a Christian, and joined the 
church. They now have family worship in 
their home; and in the care of her children, 
and her servants, she is entirely different 
from what she used to be. Before I left, my 
mistress called me aside, and said, ' Alice, 
I am very sorry you have to leave. Of 
course, under the circumstances, I can say 
nothing against it. But, before you go, I 
want to tell you what a blessing your con- 
sistent example, and Christian life have been 
to me. It is this which has led to the great 
change, you have seen in my family.' I 
only mention this, sir," said the young wo- 
man very modestly, " because I think you 
ought to know what good has followed from 
the advice you gave me.'' 

And here we see how sufficient the grace 
of God was to enable this Christian girl to 
do her duty. And if we ask God for it, we 
shall find that it will always give us — 
strength for duty. 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 293 

But the second thing, that the grace of God 
icill do for us, is to give as — comfort in trouble. 

The apostle Paul was in trouble when lie 
wrote the words of the text. lie tells us 
that he had " a thorn in his flesh," which oc- 
casioned him great inconvenience. We can 
easily understand this. If you, or I, should 
run a thorn, or splinter into our hand or 
foot, and be unable to get it out, we know 
very well, what the consequence would be. 
It would swell up, and become inflamed, 
and painful, and would cause us a great 
deal of trouble. Now St. Paul had an afflic- 
tion of some kind, which he compares to 
such a thorn. He does not tell us what it 
was; and it is impossible for us to decide. 
Many different opinions have been held 
about it. Some have supposed it was a 
trouble about the eyes; or a bodily weak- 
ness, of some kind, on account of which his 
enemies ridiculed, and made sport of him. 

But the apostle also speaks of it as u a 
messenger of Satan " — that was allowed, as 
he says, "to buffet him." To buffet means 



294 BIBLE PROMISES. 

to strike, or to beat. And it would be a 
very troublesome thing to have some one 
hitting, or beating us all the time. Some 
have supposed from this, that the apostle's 
" thorn in the flesh," was some trouble in 
the church at Corinth, growing out of the 
false doctrines that were taught there. But 
it is impossible to tell exactly what this 
" thorn in the flesh" was. We only know 
that it was something which occasioned St. 
Paul a great deal of trouble. And he tells 
us that he prayed to the Lord three times to 
have it removed. The thorn was not taken 
away; but the answer to his prayer came in 
the words of our text — " My grace is suffi- 
cient for thee." This was just as if God had 
said to him : " It will be better for you, Paul, 
not to have your thorn in the flesh taken 
away, but I will give you all the help and 
strength you need to enable you to bear it 
comfortably." And this is just the way in 
which God deals with all His people. When 
we are in any trouble, if we ask God to help 
us, He will certainly do it; either by remov 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 295 

ing the trouble, or else by giving us all the 
grace we need, to comfort us in bearing it. 
There are many illustrations of the way in 
which God does this. Let us look at some 
of them. Our first story may be called — 

THE LORD IN ALL, AND ALL IN THE LORD. 

" I had in my parish at one time," said an 
aged pastor, "a very wealthy man, who was 
an earnest Christian, who gave liberally of 
his abundance to every good cause, and was 
very happy in his religion. 

" But in the course of time, great troubles 
came upon him. He failed in business, and 
lost all his property, and was obliged to en- 
gage as book-keeper in the large business 
house which had once been all his own. Still 
he was as regular as ever at church on Sun- 
days, and at the week day meetings; was 
cheerful and pleasant as ever, and no change 
was seen in him, except that he was not 
able to give, as he had formerly done. 

" I spoke to him one day," said his pastor, 
'and asked him how he managed to be so 



296 BIBLE PROMISES. 

cheerful and happy, under all his troubles. 
We all expected that you would be sad, and 
sorrowful; but you seem brighter and more 
sunshiny even than you used to be before 
these troubles came upon you. How is 
this?" 

" Let me tell you how it is/' he said in 
his own cheerful way. u When I was rich 
and could get everything that I wished for, 
or that money could buy, I used to enjoy the 
Lord in all things. But now, since these 
troubles have come upon me, and my money 
is all gone, I enjoy all things in the Lord. I 
find His grace sufficient for me. It supplies 
all my wants, and makes me so happy, that 
I have to be praising and glorifying His 
name from day to day." 

Like St. Paul that good Christian merchant 
did not find his thorn in the flesh taken away ; 
but, like the great apostle, he found the 
grace of God sufficient to comfort him in 
his trouble. 

Our next illustration may be called — 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 297 

THE PASTOR OF KONIGSBERG. 

During the great fire, which nearly destroyed 
Konigsberg in the year 1764, a pastor of 
that city, ninety years old, lost his church, 
his house, his valuable library, and all his 
worldly goods. One of his grandsons ran 
upstairs during the fire, and carried the old 
man out on his shoulders. 

Once, when asked by a friend to tell him 
the result of his long and varied experience 
of life, he said: — 

" I have been reading and meditating on 
the ninety-first Psalm. I have found every 
statement it contains to be true, and every 
promise in it sure. I have lived in times of 
pestilence; but during those times, I have 
dwelt in the secret place of the Most High, 
and have abode under the shadow of the 
Almighty. 

u I have passed through times of war and 
bloodshed; but His faithfulness has always 
been my shield and buckler. I was in danger 
from the fire; but He gave His angels charge 



298 BIBLE PROMISES. 

over me, and they bore me up in their hands 
and brought me safely through. In all the 
many troubles of my long life, His promises 
have never failed. His grace has always been 
sufficient for me. There remains but one 
promise yet to be fulfilled. For this I am 
now waiting. It is that in which he says — 
f I will show him my salvation.' " 

What a beautiful illustration that old pas- 
tor's experience affords, of the sufficiency of 
God's grace ! 

I have one other illustration to give of this 
part of our subject. We may call it — 

THE HAPPY WOOD CUTTER. 

In these days of missionary labors, we hear 
incidents from all parts of the world, of the 
power of the gospel to help and comfort those 
who are in trouble. The story I have now 
to tell, comes from a place called Adana, in 
the interior of Turkey. There was a great 
religious interest prevailing in the mission 
there. The missionary had a visit from a 
poor native, who had lately joined the Mission 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 299 

Church. After asking him a variety of ques- 
tions, he made this statement; — 

u I am a poor man. I earn four, or five 
piasters a day by my labor." (A piaster is a 
piece of money worth about four or five cents; 
so that twenty or twenty-five cents a day was 
all that this poor man could earn.) " I cut 
up bushes by the roots," he went on to say, 
" and carry them into the town on my back, 
and sell them for firewood. I am igno- 
rant, as well as poor. I cannot read. I went 
out into the fields to-day to bring in bushes; 
it was raining; the mud was ankle deep; the 
wind blew cold from the mountains; I was 
muddy up to the knees; my thin clothes 
were wet through, and yet I went along with 
my heart so full of joy that I had to sing 
praises to God all the way." 

"And what is it that gives you so much 
joy ? " asked the missionary. 

" 0, sir, it is the thought that Christ is with 
me. He was with me in the rain, and the 
mud, and the cold wind. He is with me in 
my labor and my poverty. He is here, in my 



300 BIBLE PROMISES. 

heart. He helps me in my work ; He comforts 
and cheers me. He loves me and I love 
Him. It was this thought which sent me 
along the road to-day, singing God's praises 
as I went. And it is this thought which 
makes me so anxious that all my countrymen 
should learn to know and love this precious 
Saviour, that He may make them as happy 
as He has made me." 

Here we see how true it is that the grace 
of God is sufficient to give us comfort in all 
our troubles. 

There is one other thing for which the grace 
of God is sufficient, and that is — to give us — 

VICTORY OVER OUR ENEMIES. 

We can have no better illustration of the 
precious promise now before us, than we find 
in the apostle Paul, to whom it was first given. 
All through his long life, of faithful service 
to his Gk>d and Saviour, he found the grace 
of God sufficient for him. It was sufficient 
to strengthen him for duty; to comfort him 
in trouble; and to give him victory over his 
enemies. And a noble victory it was which 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 301 

it gave him ! As he went on with his mis- 
sionary work, travelling from city to city, 
he knew very well, that, "in every place, 
bonds and afflictions awaited him." u But 
none of these things move me," said he. 
"Neither count I my life dear unto myself; 
so that I may finish my course with joy, and 
testify the gospel of the grace of God." And 
as he drew near to the close of his ministry, 
we find the spirit of victory within him, ex- 
pressing itself thus: — " I am now ready to be 
offered, and the time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith: 
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness" (II Tim. iv. 6-8). What a 
glorious victory, the great apostle had gained 
over his enemies, when he could thus speak! 
And the grace which was sufficient to secure 
such a victory to him, will do the same for 
you and me, and for all the people of God. 
This grace, we are told, will make us not 
only conquerors, "but more than conquerors 
through Him who has loved us." Let us 



302 BIBLE PROMISES. 

look at some illustrations of the victory, 
which God's grace gives to His people, under 
all their difficulties. Our first story may be 
called — 

VICTORY OVER BLINDNESS. 

One of the most famous sculptors, ever 
known in France, was named Vidal. When 
he was a young man, and getting to be a 
very skilful artist, he was taken with a very 
severe spell of sickness, which injured his 
eyesight, and left him entirely blind. This 
was a great blow to him, and made him feel 
very sad. He was very unwilling to think 
of giving up his great life work as an artist; 
but what could he expect to do without the 
use of his eyes? For awhile he clung to the 
idea that he might finally get over this 
trouble; and, in spite of all that the doctor 
said to the contrary, he still kept on, trying 
one thing after another, in the hope of re- 
gaining the use of his eyes. But at last, 
he became satisfied that it was no use to try 
for this any longer. Then he gave it up, 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 303 

and sought to be resigned to this great 
trouble; but it was hard work. One day the 
doctor said to him — 

" My friend, you are blind indeed, but still, 
I don't want you to give up the idea of being 
an artist. You will find that though you 
have lost the use of one sense, viz., your 
eyesight, yet this very loss will help to 
sharpen, and quicken your other senses, and 
make them more useful than they were when 
you could see. This will especially be the 
case with the sense of feeling; and if you 
persist in the effort to cultivate this sense, 
with half the courage and perseverance, with 
which you have tried to recover your eye- 
sight, you may become as good a sculptor, 
without the use of your eyes, as ever you 
could have been with them." 

This comforted and encouraged the poor 
artist very much. He resolved to see what 
he could do, and asked God's blessing on his 
efforts. He went on patiently and perse ver- 
ingly, trying to cultivate the sense of feeling, 
or touch. After considerable practice, when 



304 BIBLE PROMISES. 

he found that he could, as he said, "see a 
little with his fingers," his joy was very great. 
" Perhaps," said he, " the good Lord will give 
me ten eyes instead of two " — referring to the 
use of his fingers — " and then, how thankful 
I shall be!" 

And it turned out just so. God's blessing, 
on his patient industry, was sufficient to give 
him the victory over the loss of his eyesight. 
He could go to work on a block of marble, 
with his mallet and his chisel; and instead 
of looking at it with his eyes, he could feel 
it with his fingers, arid tell exactly by his 
touch, what was needed to be done. He be- 
came one of the most skilful and famous 
artists in France. And by the use of his 
fingers, he could make a better statue, than 
any other sculptor could make by the use of 
his eyes. Certainly the grace of God was 
sufficient to give him the victory over the 
loss of his eyesight. 

Our next story illustrates the sufficiency of 
God's grace to give — 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 305 

VICTORY OYER THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

In a large manufacturing town in Con- 
necticut, there lived a blacksmith, whose 
name was Johnson. He had for years, been 
a rough wicked man, and a hard drinker; 
but finally he became a Christian, and joined 
the church. 

At first he seemed to grow in grace, and 
to be a bright, happy Christian. But after 
awhile, he did not appear to be doing so 
well. It was evident that there was some- 
thing wrong about him. The pastor of the 
church tried in vain to find out what was 
the matter with him. 

One day, in passing down the street, he 
saw Johnson coming out of a cigar store, 
with a great lump of chewing tobacco in his 
hand, of which he was taking a large bite. 
The minister was sorry to see it, and felt 
sure that this was the difficulty in Johnson's 
way. 

In the church to which he belonged, they 
were in the habit of holding a weekly meet- 



306 BIBLE PROMISES. 

ing for prayer. In those meetings the mem- 
bers of the church were accustomed to make 
short addresses. During one of the meetings 
the blacksmith rose to say a few words. He 
told how much the Lord had done for him, 
and what he was trying to do for the Lord : — 
"My houses and lands/' said he, "I've laid 
on the altar; my wife and children I've 
laid on the altar, my — " 

"Brother Johnson," asked an old deacon, 
" have you laid your tobacco on the altar ? " 

The blacksmith took his seat. He was 
not prepared to answer that question, and 
had nothing more to say. 

For several weeks after this, the black- 
smith was not present at that meeting. Aft- 
er awhile however, he went again. In the 
course of the meeting he rose up to speak. 
He was repeating what he had said at the 
previous meeting: — "I've laid my houses and 
lands on the altar; I've laid my wife and 
children on the altar; I've — " 

" Have you laid your tobacco on the 
altar ? " asked the old deacon again. 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 307 

The blacksmith turned, and there was a 
new light in his eyes, as he answered — 

"Yes, brother, thank God, I have laid my 
tobacco on the altar. And now I feel that 
I can praise God with my whole heart. It 
was very hard to give it up. I made all 
sorts of excuses. I found I could not do it 
myself; so I asked the Lord to help me. I 
had prayed before for a clean heart, and now 
I prayed for a clean mouth. The Lord has 
heard my prayer. His grace was sufficient 
for me. It has given me the victory over the 
habit of using tobacco." 

I have only one other story in connection 
with this part of our subject. It shows us 
how the grace of God gave to an engineer — 

VICTORY OVER THE LOVE OF DRINK. 

The owner of a cotton mill in England, 
had a large stationary engine for running 
his mill. The engineer, who had been in 
his employ for a long time, was taken sud- 
denly ill. A man, who had been employed 
on a neighboring railway, Avas highly recom- 



308 BIBLE PROMISES. 

mended to him as a skilful engineer. "His 
services to us have been invaluable," said the 
Superintendent of the road, to the owner of 
the mill. " He is the best engineer we ever 
had, and has saved many lives by his quick- 
ness and bravery. He has but one fault, and 
that is the love of strong drink. He will 
not let liquor alone, and so we have dis- 
charged him. You cannot depend on him 
for more than five days at a time. On Sat- 
urday he always goes off on a spree." 

But the owner of the mill could not afford 
to let his work stand still. "And so," as 
he said to a friend, " in spite of this discour- 
aging report, I hired the man. I thought 
I would watch him carefully, and hoped 
he might do better. During the first few 
days, that he was working for me, I often 
passed through the engine room to see how 
things were going. But everything was in 
the nicest possible order, and the engine 
was working away as smoothly as clock- 
work. I was delighted, and only hoped it 
would continue. When Saturday came I 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 309 

trembled. But it passed quietly by, and on 
Monday morning he was in his place, per- 
fectly sober. Week after week went on in 
this way. I asked myself in surprise, over 
and over again, what was the meaning of 
that report about his working five days and 
being drunk two ! The answer to my ques- 
tion came out in this way — 

" One day as I was passing through the 
engine-roon he said — ' May I speak with 
you a moment, sir ? ' 

" ' Certainly,' I said. ' But what is the 
matter, John ? Are you out of oil ? ' 

" ' No, sir,' he replied, ' it's about myself I 
wish to speak.' 

"'Very well, go on; I shall be glad to 
hear what you have to say.' Then he said — 

" ' Thirty-two years ago I drank my first 
glass of liquor; and for the past ten years, un- 
til the last month, no single week has passed 
by, without my being drunk on Saturday 
night. At times my struggles against the 
longing for drink have been very earnest. 
My employers once offered me a thousand 



310 BIBLE PROMISES. 

dollars, if I would not touch liquor for three 
months, but I lost it. I tried all sorts of 
remedies, but in vain. My wife died pray- 
ing that I might be kept from a drunkard's 
grave; yet my promises to her were broken 
within two days of her death. I signed 
pledges, and joined societies, but it did 
no good. My employers reasoned with me, 
and then discharged me, but without effect. 
I could not stop, and I knew it. When I 
came to work for you, I did not expect to 
stay more than a week ; but now ! ' — and 
here the old man's face lighted up with a 
peculiar smile of joy, as he continued — 'now, 
in this extremity, when I was willing to sell 
my soul for a glass of rum, I have found 
a sure remedy ! I have gotten the victory 
over my love of drink ! ' 

u And pray, John," said his employer, "tell 
me what has given you this victory ? " 

The engineer picked up a Bible, that lay 
on the window sill, and turning to the ninth 
verse of the twelfth chapter of II Corinthians 
read out the words of our text: — "'My grace 



THE PROMISED GRACE. 311 

is sufficient for thee.' I asked God to help 
me, sir, and His grace has given me the vic- 
tory over my enemy." 

Let us all seek the grace here promised, 
and we shall find in it the greatest blessing 
we can have. It will give us strength for 
duty; comfort in trouble; and victory over 
our enemies. And that which will do all 
this for us, is a blessing indeed ! 



XI. 

THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 



XT. 
THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 

" Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with him." — 
Isaiah iii. 10. 

Our sermon to-day will finish the course, 
which has occupied us for the past winter, 
on " Bible Promises." 

The promise, which our text brings before 
us, is a very beautiful one, and a very proper 
one with which to end this course. 

" Say ye to the righteous it shall be well 
with him." "The righteous ! " This is one 
of the many names, or titles applied to God's 
people in the Bible. It does not mean that 
they were born righteous; or that they made 
themselves righteous. We are all born into 
this world as sinners. But when we repent 
and turn to Jesus, He pardons our sins, and 
changes our hearts, and makes us good, or 

(315) 



316 BIBLE PROMISES. 

righteous. So this term — righteous, is a 
proper one for all who are the servants of 
Jesus. 

"Say ye to the righteous — it — shall be well 
with him." "It" is a little word of only two 
letters. What does it mean ? We call this 
little word a pronoun. And generally it is 
used to represent something that has been 
spoken of before. For example, suppose I 
should ask one of you to go into the vestry- 
room, and get a Bible off the table, and 
bring "i£" to me. Then, that little "it," 
would stand for the Bible, you were to bring 
to me. But nothing has been spoken of, in 
connection with our text, which can be rep- 
resented, by this little word — "it." The 
meaning is different here. And then the 
question comes up, what is its meaning? 
The best way I can think of, for answering 
this question is by the help of another text 
of Scripture. In Romans viii. 28, the apos- 
tle Paul tells us that— "All things work 
together for good to them that love God." 
And in the passage of Scripture we have for 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 317 

our present text, the little word — "it" — has 
the same meaning, as the — "all things," of 
which the apostle is speaking in the other 
passage. These two verses, one in the Old 
Testament, and the other in the New Testa- 
ment, both teach us the same lesson. When 
the prophet Isaiah gave the Jews this pre- 
cious promise — " Say ye to the righteous, it 
shall be well with him"; he was teaching 
them precisely the same truth, which the 
apostle Paul was teaching the Christians at 
Rome, when he said — "We know that all 
things work together for good to them that 
love God." The "it" in the one passage, 
and the "all things" in the other, have 
both the same meaning. Let us just make 
this change in our text, and see how it will 
read : " Say ye to the righteous — all things — 
shall be well with him." 

If you and I are loving and serving Jesus, 
we are among "the righteous," spoken of in 
our text, and we may regard God as telling 
us, when we read the words of the text, that 
the sun which shines on us by day, and the 



318 BIBLE PROMISES. 

moon and the stars by night; that the sea- 
sons as they come and go; and the winds that 
blow about us; and the rains that descend 
upon us; that the loss of health, or friends; 
and every trial or trouble that may come 
upon us, are only helping to make up this 
little word — "it" — in our text, which God 
promises — u shall be well with us." Every- 
thing that happens to us is intended by God 
to help us in serving Him, and in making 
us more fit for that heavenly home, which He 
is preparing for us. 

Our sermon to-day is about — the promise 
to the righteous. " Say ye to the righteous it 
shall be well with him." And there are 
three times, when God will fulfil this prom- 
ise, and make it well with us. 

In the first place, God iviJl make "it" ivell with 

us — IN LIFE. 

Every day that we live we may regard 
God as saying to us — " it shall be well with 
you." This does not mean that we shall 
never have any trials, or troubles; but it 
means that when trials come, God will turn 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 319 

them into blessings, and make them work 
together for our good. We may not be able 
to understand how God will bring this all 
about; but we may feel perfectly sure that it 
will be so. We have God's word of promise 
for it, and His promise we know can never 
be broken. 

Let us look at some illustrations of the 
way in which this is done. 

Our first story may be called — 

ITS ALL FOR THE BEST. 

When Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII., 
was Queen of England, a great many good 
Protestant ministers, and people too, were 
persecuted, because they would not give up 
their religion, and join the church of Rome. 
Some were put in prison, and others were 
chained to the stake and burned to death. 
There was then a faithful minister whose 
name was Bernard Gilpin. He was so fully 
convinced of the truth which the Bible 
teaches, both in our text, and in other 
places, that he was in the habit of saying 



320 BIBLE PROMISES. 

of eyery thing that happened to him: — "It's 
all for the best." Well, one time during 
Queen Mary's bloody reign, he received a 
summons to go up to London and be tried 
for his life, by those who were putting the 
Protestants to death. When he left home 
his friends never expected to see him again 
in this world. But while on his way to 
London he fell and broke his leg. 

Somebody said to him : — " Do you think this 
is all for the best ? " 

" I've no doubt of it," said he. 

Of course he could not travel with a broken 
leg. He had to be taken care of, on the road, 
till his leg got well. This detained him 
there several months. And while he was 
waiting thus, Queen Mary died. Her sister 
Elizabeth became Queen of England. She 
was a Protestant, and the persecution which 
had been carried on, during the reign of her 
sister, was stopped at once. Mr. Gilpin re- 
turned home, as soon as he got well, instead 
of going to London to be put to death. The 
breaking of his leg was the means of saving 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 321 

bis life. This is a good illustration of our 
text. It was well for that good minister 
that his leg was broken. 

Our next story may be called — 

THE TWO CLERKS. 

Two young men went to Boston, and got 
situations there, in a large wholesale busi- 
ness house. They had both been religiously 
brought up, and the head of the firm in 
which they were employed was a Christian. 
One of these young men was named George 
Brobson, and the name of the other was 
James Johnson. They were both professors 
of religion; but when they entered into bus- 
iness they pursued very different courses, 
and we shall see that while it was not "well" 
with one of them, it was "well" with the 
other. 

They had not been in Boston long, before 
they became acquainted with a number of 
young men, most of whom were not Christians. 
George and James were boarding at the same 
house, and sharing the same room. Some of 



322 BIBLE PROMISES. 

their young friends, whose acquaintance they 
had formed, got into the habit of calling on 
them on Sunday mornings. By and by, as 
they were talking together, the church bells 
would be heard ringing. And just here, the 
difference between these two young men first 
began to show itself. George Brobson had 
made up his mind always to carry his relig- 
ion with him, wherever he went, and to be 
faithful to his duty to God, as well as to men. 
James Johnson had not made any such resolu- 
tion. Like many other persons, he was ready 
to do exactly what those about him did, with- 
out stopping to think whether it was right or 
wrong. On these occasions, as soon as the 
church bell was heard ringing, George would 
rise, and excuse himself to his friends, and 
get ready for church. No matter what they 
said to him, or how much they laughed at 
him, he paid no attention to it, but went reg- 
ularly to church. But it was different with 
his companion James. He listened to the 
entreaties of his young friends, and gave up 
going to church. 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 323 

He got into the habit of spending his Sun- 
days, with those gay young men, in taking 
pleasure excursions. And then, on the week 
day evenings, they took him to the theatre, 
and to the drinking saloons. In this way he 
learned to drink. He became intemperate. 
Then he lost his situation and had to struggle 
hard to get a living. He gradually became 
worse and worse; and at last, when he was 
out sailing with his companions, one Sunday 
afternoon, suddenly a storm arose. The boat 
in which they were sailing, was upset. Sev- 
eral of the young men were drowned, and 
James was one of them. This was his sad 
end. He was not " righteous" — and certainly 
it was not " well" with him. 

But how different it was with his friend 
George ! He was an earnest, faithful Chris- 
tian. In all his business concerns he was dil- 
igent, and persevering, and had the entire 
confidence of the gentlemen who employed 
him. He rose gradually from one position to 
another, till he became the head clerk in the 
establishment. 



324 BIBLE PROMISES. 

After serving there for some years, he went 
into business for himself. He was eminently 
successful in this, and became one of the rich- 
est men in Boston. He was an earnest mem- 
ber of the church to which he belonged, and 
the superintendent of the Sunday School. He 
was actively engaged in all sorts of good 
works; and was greatly loved and honored 
by all who knew him. He was indeed a 
righteous man, and we see how surely the 
promise of the text was fulfilled in his case; 
for, in very deed and truth — " it was well 
with him." . 

In the first place, God will fulfil this prom- 
ise, and make it well with us in life. 

In the second place, God will fulfil this promise, 
and make "it" well with us — in death. 

Death is something which must come to all 
of us, sooner or later. And death is a very 
solemn thing. It will remove us from all our 
relatives and friends in this world, and take 
us into the immediate presence of God. And 
we know from the Bible, that God feels the 
greatest interest in the death of His people. 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 325 

David tells us that their death " is precious 
in his sight" (Ps. cxvi. 15). 

God knows how natural it is for His people 
to be afraid of death, and therefore He has 
given us precious promises in His word, to 
take away this fear. One of these was the 
sweet promise He gave to the patriarch Jacob, 
when he had that wonderful vision, in which 
he saw the ladder set up from earth to heaven, 
with the angels of God, going up and down 
upon it. We read about this vision in the 
twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis. Jacob was 
then starting on a long journey, to make a 
visit to his uncle Laban. God appeared to 
him above that ladder, which he saw in his 
vision; and He promised — u to be with him, 
and keep him in all places whither he went, 
and never to leave him till He had done all 
that He had spoken to him of." This promise 
had a particular reference to the journey on 
which Jacob was then starting. But it was 
not given to Jacob alone; nor only for that 
journey which he was then taking. No; but 
it is a promise for you, and for me, and for 



326 BIBLE PROMISES. 

all the people of God; and it is intended to 
apply to the whole journey of life. It is a 
promise that takes in both our life, and our 
death. That promise, given to Jacob, shows 
us that the promise in our present text is 
intended to follow us in blessing, till we get 
safe home to heaven. It makes us feel sure 
that through our whole life " it shall be 
well with us"; and then it makes us feel 
equally sure that " it will be well with us " 
in death. 

I think it very likely that it was the 
knowledge which David had, of this promise 
given to Jacob, that made him feel so com- 
fortable when he thought of dying. See how 
cheerfully he speaks about it, in the twenty- 
third Psalm, where he uses this language — 
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of 
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for 
thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff, they 
comfort me." If we only have God, and His 
blessed word, to lean upon, as our rod and 
staff, then indeed, "it will be well with us" 
in death, and we need fear no evil, Avhen we 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 327 

think of walking through that dark valley. 
Now let ns look at some examples, of the way 
in which God's people have found it well 
with them in death. We may begin with 
one example from the Bible. It is the case 
of good old Simeon. God had told him that 
he should not die till he had seen the prom- 
ised Saviour of the world. And when the 
parents of the infant Jesus brought Him into 
the temple, to offer for Him the sacrifice re- 
quired by the Jewish law, Simeon came in at 
the same time. God told him who this infant 
was. Then he took Him up in his arms, and 
blessed God, and said — " Lord, now lettrst 
thou thy servant depart in peace, according 
to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy 
salvation." The Saviour of the world had 
come. Simeon had seen, and embraced Him, 
— and now, he felt that "it was well with 
him" in death. The sight of that gracious 
Saviour had taken away from him all fear 
of death. He felt that now, he could depart 
in peace. 

And here are some other illustrations of 



328 BIBLE PROMISES. 

this part of our subject. Our first illustra- 
tion may be called — 

PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 

If we wish to have "it well with us" in 
death, we must be careful to do our duty 
faithfully in life. 

A lady once asked Mr. Wesley, the cele- 
brated Methodist minister, this question — 

"If you knew that you must die at twelve 
o'clock to-morrow night, Mr. Wesley, how 
would you spend the time between now and 
then?" 

" Why, just as I intend to spend it now. 
I should preach this evening at Gloucester, 
as I have appointed ; and then again at eight 
o'clock to-morrow morning. After that I 
would ride to Tewkesbury, and preach there 
in the afternoon, and then go to meet the so- 
cieties in the evening; and then I would go 
to the house of the friend with whom I am 
to stay; I would converse and pray with the 
family as usual; then I would retire to my 
room at ten o'clock, and commending myself 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 329 

to my Heavenly Father, lie quietly down to 
rest and sleep, and — at twelve o clock wake up 
in heaven ! " 

That good man certainly felt sure that "it 
would be well with him" in death. 

Our next illustration may be called — 

HAPPY IN DEATH. 

A faithful minister of the gospel, who la- 
bored among the poor in London, tells this 
story: — 

"Some time ago I stood by the bedside 
of a poor young woman. She was suf- 
fering from a very painful disease which 
was dragging her down to the grave. A 
little garret room was her only home. And 
yet, in spite of her deep poverty, and her 
very great suffering, she was always so 
peaceful and happy, that her plain room used 
to make me think of heaven. 

"I went in to see her one day, and found 
her very low. The doctor had been to see 
her a short time before, and said she could 
not live through that day. 



330 BIBLE PROMISES. 

" ' Well, Mary,' I said to her, 'how are you 
feeling now ? ' 

" 4 1 am near the end of my journey,' was 
her answer; 'and I am finishing my Christian 
course, just as I began it, years ago, at the 
feet of Jesus.' And then, with a feeble voice, 
she repeated this verse of one of her favorite 
hymns — 

" ' A guilty, weak, and helpless worm 
On thy kind arms I fall; 
Be thou my strength and righteousness, 
My Jesus, and my all.' " 

" Then she closed her eyes, and her happy 
spirit entered into the presence of that Sa- 
viour, 'whom having not seen she loved." 
r Surely "it was well with her" in death! 
And when we think of the comfort she 
found in Jesus, we may take up the sweet 
lines which some one has written, and say — 

" Oh, trust thyself to Jesus 

As thy spirit takes its night, 
From every earthly shadow, 
To the land of perfect light. 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 331 

That is the hour for feeling 

' Christ hath done all for me ;' 
That is the time for singing, 
'He gives the victory.' " 
* 
A faithful minister of Christ was lying 

on his death-bed. A brother minister was 
sitting by his bed-side. He saw the dy^ng 
man's face lighted up with an expression of 
great joy. "My brother,'' he asked, "do you 
already see the golden streets, and pearly 
gates of the New Jerusalem ? " 

" I do," was his reply. 

" Shall we not engage in prayer? " asked his 
friend. 

"I would rather engage in praise," was the 
answer of the dying man. 

The closing moments of his passing life 
were spent in praise. The last words he was 
heard to utter were: " Glory, glory! Come, 
Lord Jesus ! " It was well with him, in death. 

These were the last words of another faith- 
ful minister, as he lay upon his death-bed: 
" I am happy, I am happy ! For the last four 
days my soul has constantly been in a state 



332 BIBLE PROMISES. 

of — 4 joy unspeakable, and full of glory.' I 
have done with prayer now; I can love, I can 
praise, but I cannot pray. 'Now Lord, lettest 
thou thy servant depart in peace, according 
to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy 
salvation.' " It was well with that man in 
death ! 

Here is another minister on his death-bed. 
Listen to his last words. 

"I know I am dying; but my death-bed 
is a bed of roses. I have no thorns planted 
on my dying pillow. Heaven is already be- 
gun. I die a safe, happy death. Thou, 
my God, art present; 1 know, I feel that thou 
art here. Precious Jesus ! Glory, glory be 
to God ! " It was well with him in death ! 

"The celestial city is full in my view," said 
Dr. Payson on his death-bed. 

"This is heaven begun," were the last 
words of one dying minister. 

"I see the New Jerusalem," were the last 
words of another. "Let me go! Let me 
go!" 

And so his ransomed soul entered into 



THE TROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 333 

the presence of Jesus, and the happy multi- 
tudes with Him in heaven. How truly it 
may be said of such that it is well with them 
in death ! 

In the second place, God fulfils the promise 
of our text, and makes "it well with the 
righteous" — in death. 

In the third pS 7 will fulfil this promise, 

ike u it wdl with the righteous" — after 

DEATH. 

Death is the end of our present life, but it 
is only the beginning of the life which is to 
come. That life will have no end; but will 
go on for ever and ever. And as we begin 
that life, when our bodies die, so we must go 
on, and continue it for all eternity. If " it 
is well with us" when we begin that life, 
then it will be well with us forever. If it is 
not well with us when we begin that life, 
then it never, never can be well with us. 
But, if we only love and serve Jesus, and bo 
are found among "the righteous," spoken of 
in our text, then "it will be well with us." In 
life it will be well with us; in death it will be 



331 BIBLE PROMISES. 

well with us; and it will be well with us 
after death. Then our fortune will be made 
for this world, and for the world to come. 
We know nothing about what our state will 
be after death, except what God has told us 
in the Bible. As David was thinking of this 
heavenly state, he said — " When I awake in 
thy likeness I shall be satisfied with it. In 
thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy 
right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 

When the apostle Paul was speaking of 
this state after death, he said: "I have fought 
a good fight; I have finished ray course; I 
have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid 
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at 
that day" (II Tim. iv. 7). 

But the best and fullest description of what 
the state of the righteous will be, after death, 
is given us in the last two chapters of the 
New Testament. There we are told more, 
about this state, than can be found in' all the 
rest of the Bible put together. There the 
home, in which the souls of the righteous 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 335 

will live after death, is spoken of as — u a 
holy city," which the apostle John saw u com- 
ing down from God, out of heaven." Its 
gates are made of pearl; its walls, and its 
foundations are of precious stones; and its 
streets are of gold, as clear as crystal. And 
there will be no night there; and no sorrow, 
nor crying, nor pain, and no more death. 
And God will wipe away all tears from the 
eyes of those that dwell there. They will 
see the face of Jesus, and will walk with 
Him in white. "And the Lamb that is in 
the midst of the throne will feed them, and 
lead them to the fountains of living waters." 
The angels will be our companions there; 
and we shall all be kings and priests unto 
God forever. What a state of happiness that 
will be ! Well might the apostle Paul speak 
of it as "a weight of glory;" "an eternal 
weight of glory," "far exceeding," and more 
than exceeding, all that we can now think 
of! How much there must be, in the hope 
of this glorious heaven, awaiting us after 
death, to give us help and comfort, in meet- 



336 BIBLE PROMISES. 

ing the iuties, and bearing the burdens of 
the present life ! The apostle Paul compares 
this hope of heaven to an anchor; because, 
just as the sailor lets go his anchor, when 
the storm bursts upon him, and this enables 
his vessel to ride through the storm in 
safety; so, this hope of heaven, is like an 
anchor to the soul of the Christian, keeping 
it steady, and calm, and happy, while the 
storms of life are beating around it. 

Let us look at some illustrations of the 
way in which this is done. 

Our first may be called — 

THE CHRISTIAN'S HOPE. 

One afternoon a pious lady teacher, was re- 
turning home from school. Her work that 
clay had been very trying, and discouraging; 
and as she went slowly on her way, she was 
feeling very sad and uncomfortable. Just 
then she passed a little shop, kept by an old 
negro woman. She was a bright, happy 
Christian. The hope of heaven was not only 
like an anchor to her soul, but also like a 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 337 

fountain of blessedness, that was always send- 
ing forth its streams to make her cheerful 
and glad. As that sorrowful teacher went 
by her shop, the old woman was standing on 
the pavement, arranging some of her goods; 
at the same time, in the free and easy way, 
belonging to her, she was carrying on a re- 
ligious conversation, with some one inside of 
her shop. This person was in trouble, and 
the old woman was trying to comfort her; 
and just as the weary feet, of that discouraged 
teacher, carried her past the store, she heard 
these words, which the old darkey was speak- 
ing to her friend inside: — " De Massa mighty 
good to his suffrin' people. Neber min\ 
honey, Hell gib you Heben bymeby, and 
dat'U make all straight." 

The troubled teacher heard those words, 
and they were a great comfort to her. If 
an angel from heaven had spoken to her, he 
could not have said anything, that would 
have done her more good. The burden was 
lifted from her heart, and she went on 
her way rejoicing. 



338 BIBLE PROMISES. 

Our next story may be called — 

THE HINDOO CHILES HOPE OF HEAVEN. 

This story has been put into very simple 
verse, and I give it you in this form. 

"A little heathen child there was 
On India's sultry plains, 
Where idol temples thickly stand, 
And pagan darkness reigns; 

"She long was tanght to put her trust 
In blocks of wood and stone: 
To sing their praises, worship them, 
And pray to them alone. 

"A Missionary came at last 
To tell of better things; 
To tell them of our God of love, 
Our own great * King of kings. ' 

"A school was opened, and she went 
To learn the way to heaven; 
She heard of Jesus, by whose blood 
Her sins might be forgiven. 

"His Spirit changed her youthful heart, 
And filled it with His love: 
She longed to see Him, and to dwell 
"With Him in heaven above. 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 339 

"One day a grievous sickness came, 
And laid this dear child low; 
She could not leave her little mat; 
To school no more could go. 

"The Missionary kindly went 
To see this little child; 
Her sufferings made him very sad; 
Yet midst them all, she smil'd. 

"O listen to her feeble voice, 
Now she is called to die, 
While pain convuls'd her frame, and forc'd 
The tear-drop from her eye. 

"Yet not one murmuring word arose 
From that once heathen child, 
For thoughts of Jesus filled her soul, 
So that she sweetly smil'd. 

"Yes, smil'd midst agonizing pain, 
And smil'd with death in view; 
For — < After this is heaven,' she said; 
And soon she proved it true." 

She felt sure that — "it would be well with 
her" after death, and this thought cheered, 
and comforted her amidst all her sufferings. 

Our last story may be called — 



310 BIBLE PROMISES. 



HEAVEN ON EARTH. 



A faithful minister of the gospel gives the 
following account of an humble Christian wo- 
man, who was a member of his church. " She 
was," he said, u one of the happiest Christians I 
ever knew. She was very poor, and had noth- 
ing to live on but what was given her by the 
Church. She lived in a small room, with very 
little furniture in it; and yet, when I went 
to visit her, it always seemed like the gate 
of heaven to me, because she was so happy 
and joyful. One day she sent word that she 
was in trouble, and wished to see me. 

"Wondering what could possibly bring any 
trouble to her, I said, as I entered her humble 
home: — 'Well, my good friend, do tell me 
what is your trouble?' 'It is just this,' she 
said, 'that I cannot pray any more. I did so 
want to spend the few days left to me on 
earth, in praying for my friends. But now, 
whenever I begin to speak to God, I can do 
nothing but praise Him; and glory ! — glory! 
— glory ! — is all that I can say.' " 



THE PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 341 

Truly the hope of heaven was more than 
an anchor to her soul! How sure she was 
that ;; it would be well with her" after death ! 

We have spoken of three times when God 
will fulfil this promise to the righteous; these 
are — in life — in death — and after death. 0, let 
us be sure that we really love and serve Jesus. 
Then He will count us among the number of 
His people, and this precious promise will be- 
long to each of us — " Say ye to the righteous 
that it shall be well with him." 



INDEX 



A. 

A beautiful Boy 2G6-268 

A beautiful Temper 263 

A boy helped to do his Duty at Home and 

at School 121-125 

A good little Boy 172,173 

A Liar cured by Prayer 214, 215 

All for the Best 319,320 

Almshouse, Heaven in an 38, 39 

An aged Christian's Example 197 

An Engineer helped by the Grace of God . . 287-289 

Angel's Charge, The 82 

A young Girl helped to do her Duty .... 290-293 

B. 

Beauty from the Dew 261, 262 

Blessed in Jesus by the Hope He gives ... 86 

Blessing. The, promised in Christ 71 

Blood, The cleansing 14-16 

C. 

Chinaman, A good 174 

Christians, A Blessing by their Example. . . 190 

Christians, A Blessing by their Prayers . . . 198-201 

'343) 



344 INDEX. 

Christians, A Blessing by their Work .... 208, 209 

Comfort in Trouble Ill, 112 

Comfort in Trouble from the Grace of God. . 293, 294 

Comfort in Trusting God 244 

Company, The best 80 

Connie's Chickens 59, 60 

D. 

Do your Best 258-260 

Drunkard, A, saved by the Prayer of his Child. 206, 207 

Dying, Glorious 91 

Dying Soldier, The ... ' 145, 146 

E. 

Example, A little Boy's, a Blessing to his Family. 191, 192 
Example, A little Boy's, a Blessing to his Play- 
mate 193, 194 

Example, The, of a pious Clerk 194-196 

F. 

Faith, Eich in 165-168 

Fruitfulness from the Dew 272, 273 

G. 

God promises to answer Prayer for Necessary 

Things 45 

God's Blessing makes us Great 177-179 

God's Blessing makes us Rich 161-164 

Goodness, An Indian's Idea of 175, 176 

Good, The, one Bible did 75-78 

Greatness, What a King thought of ... . 182, 183 

Greatness, What a Minister thought of . . . 184, 185 



INDEX. 345 

H. 

Happy in Death 329-332 

Heaven on Earth 340, 341 

Help from a Raven 224-227 

Help in bearing Burdens 108, 109 

Help in doing our Duty 116, 117 

Help in making a Sermon 118-120 

Help in resisting Temptations 100 

Help in Trouble 62 

He says He will 65 

Hope, A Blessing in a Hospital 87 

How a Boy prospered 152 

How a Gentle Boy became a Gentleman. . . 254-256 

How a little Boy felt God near 223 

How a little Girl was a Blessing 211-213 

How a New York Gentleman was a Blessing . 214-216 

How Christians are a Blessing 189 

How Joseph and Peter were helped .... 101 
How the Grace of God helped a Boy to do his 

Duty 288 

How we are Blessed in the Knowledge of Christ. 73 

I. 

India, A Scene in 142-144 

Indian's Prayer, The 46,47 

J. 

Jerusalem Sinners 233, 234 

Jesus blesses Men by the Privilege of being 

His Friends 79 

L. 

Life and Growth from the Dew 253 



346 INDEX. 

M. 

Making People happy 210 

Miner's Boy, The, and his Bible 88 

Money to go on with 57, 58 

N. 

Netty's Prayer for Daily Bread 66 

O. 

One to be Trusted 264, 265 

One Woman's Work 277, 278 

Our Safety in Christ 245, 246 

P. 

"Papa is running the Engine" 242,243 

Pardon found in God 132 

Peace found in God 138, 139 

Power of doing Good to many Sinners . . . 32-34 

Power of doing Good to one Sinner .... 30 

Prayer for a Bible 48 

Prayer for Profitable Things . 52 

Prayer for Promised Things 60 

Preparation for Death 328 

Promises about our Sins 13, 14 

Promises, The, exceeding great in Number . . 13 

Promises, The, great in their Certainty ... 21 

Promises, The, great in their Power .... 28 

Promises, The Nature of the 13 

Promises, Tried and Proved 24 

Promise, The, about Prayer 43, 44 

Prosperity found in God 146-149 



INDEX. 347 

R. 

Refuge, A large 228, 229 

Refuge, A near 220-222 

Refuge, A safe 240 

Refuge, A well-furnished 235-238 

Refuge, The promised 219 

S. 

Simple Trust 26 

Sowing and Reaping 274 

Strength for Duty from God's Grace .... 284,285 

Sure Word, The 22 

T. 

Temptation to break the Sabbath resisted. . . 104, 105 

Temptation to Drink overcome by Prayer . . 102, 103 

The Blessing found in Jesus 154 

The bright Side 140 

The Christian's Glory 180, 181 

The Christian's Hope 336, 337 

The colored Man and the Bible 257 

The Fruit of one Man's Labor 275, 276 

The happy Woodcutter 298, 299 

The Heart's ease of the Village 35-37 

The heavy Burden made light 113, 114 

The Hindoo Child's Hope of Heaven. . . . 338,339 

The little Boy's Letter 50, 51 

The Lord in All, and All in the Lord . . . 295, 296 

The lost Sheep found by Prayer 202, 203 

The Pastor of Konigsberg 297 

The Power of the Blood 133, 134 

The promised Blessing 159, 160 

The promised Grace 283 



348 INDEX. 

The promised Help . . . • 99 

The Promise of the Dew 251, 252 

The Promise to the Kighteous 315-317 

The Eope at Sea 110 

The Scotchman's Struggle with Temptation. . 106, 107 

The Storm and its Lessons 84= 

The Tartar Chiefs 73, 74 

The two Clerks . . 321-323 

V. 

Victory over Blindness 302-304 

Victory over our Enemies by the Grace of God. 300, 301 

Victory over the Love of Drink 307-310 

Victory over the Use of Tobacco 305, 306 

W. 

Well after Death 333-335 

Well in Death 324-327 

Well in Life 318 

What an old Slave found in Christ— the Kefuge. 239, 240 

What Pardon was to a Hindoo 136, 137 

Whiter than Snow 269-271 

Whosoever 230-233 



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